
Class VBwW 

Book iftii 

Copyright N?._ ! 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT; 



A REVIEW OF 
ENGLISH GRAMMAR 



FOR 



SECONDARY SCHOOLS 

EDWARD Af^ALLEN 
M 

PROFESSOR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE 
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI 



o^?o 



BOSTON, U.S.A. 

D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS 

1909 







Copyright, 1903 and 1909, 
By D. C. HEATH & CO. 



j LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
! Two Cooles Received 

MAY 10 1W9 



Copy 




>4 XX& NO, 

copy 



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0. 



CONTENTS 

PART I. PARTS OF SPEECH 

PAGE 

I. Nouns 1-5 

II. Verbs 6-12 

III. Pronouns 13-15 

IV. Adjectives 16-21 

V. Adverbs . . . 22-25 

VI. Prepositions 26-28 

VII. Conjunctions 29-31 

VIII. Interjections 32 

IX. Parts of Speech . 33-35 

PART II. INFLECTIONS 

X. Inflection 36-37 

XL Nouns 38-51 

Classification, 38-39 ; Gender, 40-41 ; Number, 41-45 ; 
Cases, 46-51. 

XII. Pronouns 52-63 

Personal Pronouns, 52-54; Compound Personal Pro- 
nouns, 54-55; Interrogative Pronouns, 56; Relative 
Pronouns, 57-60; Demonstrative Pronouns, 61 ; Indefi- 
nite and Reciprocal Pronouns, 61-62 ; Review, 62-63. 

XIII. Adjectives 64-69 

Classification, 64 ; Numeral. Adjectives, 64; Pronomi- 
nal Adjectives, 64-65, Articles, 66 ; Comparison, 67-68 ; 
Review, 69. 

v 

-^4 f» f 



VI 



Contents 



PAGE 

XIV. Verbs 70-97 

Transitive and Intransitive, 70-74 ; Mood, 74-75 ; 
Tense, 76-78 ; Person and Number, 79 ; Infinitive and 
Participles, 80 ; Conjugation, 81-86 ; Strong and Weak 
Verbs, 87-93 ; Defective Verbs, 93-94 ; Impersonal 
Verbs, 94; Auxiliaries, 94-95 ; Review, 96-97. 

XV. Adverbs 98-102 

Classification, 98 ; Pronominal Adverbs, 99 ; Com- 
parison, 100-101 ; Review, 101-102. 

XVI. Prepositions 103-105 

XVII. Conjunctions 106-107 

PART III. ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES 

XVIII. Analysis of Sentences 108-125 

Simple Sentences, 108-113; Complex Sentences, 
114-1 18 ; Compound Sentences, 119 ; Sentence Analy- 
sis, 119-122; Review, 123-125. 



PART IV. SYNTAX 

XIX. Syntax 126-166 

Case Relations: Nominative, 127-129; Possessive, 
129-130; Objective, 130-133; Review, 133-135.— 
Syntax of Adjectives, 135-137. — Concord: Of Pro- 
noun with Antecedent, 138-139 ; Of Subject with Predi- 
cate, 139-142. — Present and Present-Perfect Tenses, 
142. — Subjunctive Mood: In Principal Sentences, 
143-144; In Clauses, 144-145. — Modal Auxiliaries, 
147-150; Conditional Prepositions, 150-151 ; Shall 
and Will, 152. — Infinitive, 153-157- — Verbal Nouns, 
158-159; Participles, 159-162. — General Review, 
163-166. 



ENGLISH GRAMMAR 



oX*o 



PART I 



CHAPTER I 

NOUNS 

1. Noun is the word in grammar for name. 
Everything you see around you has a name, and that 

"\ame is called a Noun. 

EXERCISE 1 

Point out the nouns in the following sentences. : — 

i. There are three books on the desk. 2. The chalk is on the 
floor. 3. I found the paper in my book. 4. The bottle is full of inko 
5. Shut the door and open the window. 6. He asked for a knife to 
sharpen his pencil. 7. He had ten marbles in his pocket. 8. There 
is not much water in the bucket. 9. The dipper is hanging on a nail. 
10. I have lost my top and cord. 11. Buttercups are yellow. 12. Hang 
your hat up in the hall. 13. The bell hangs in the church-steeple. 
14. She has torn her frock. 15. There were two apples in the basket. 

Make sentences containing the names of five things you 
see in the room. 

2. The names of living things are Nouns. 



English Grammar 



EXERCISE 2 

Point out the nouns in the following sentences : — 

i. The dog was chasing a hare. 2. The cows are coming home. 
3. The thrush was singing in the tree. 4. The cat was playing with 
a mouse. 5. The kitten is asleep behind the stove. 6. The swallow 
fell down the chimney. 7. The fly was caught in the web of an ugly 
spider. 8. The hawk flew at the chickens. 9. The man was riding 
on the back of an elephant. 10. The warm sun brought the ants out 
of their holes. 1 1. The pony broke the bridle and ran to the barn. 

12. The old hen was frightened when the ducks went into the water. 

13. There were two white rabbits in the pen. 14. A mouse once freed 
a lion. 15. The turtle carries his house with him. 

Make sentences containing the names of five living 
things. 

3. The names of persons and places are Nouns. 

EXERCISE 3 

Point out the nouns in the following sentences : — 

1. The boy went home with his sister. 2. I have an uncle and three 
cousins living in the country. 3. The milkman comes to our house 
every morning. 4. A soldier was walking up the street. 5. I went to 
the station to meet my father. 6. The sailor went to sea. 7. The 
blacksmith has a shop near the court house. 8. The teacher tells the 
scholars a story. 9. The general is riding across the field. 10. Parents 
want their children to learn. 11. The king and queen travel in foreign 
countries. 12. The servant broke a pitcher. 13. The miller lives 
outside the village. 14. The thief stole the baker's purse. 15. The 
mayor's clerk wrote letters all day. 

Make sentences containing the names of five persons 
and of five places. 

4. The name of a particular person, place, or thing is 
called a Proper Noun. 



Nouns 3 

EXERCISE 4 

Point out the proper nouns : — 

i. George Washington was our first president. 2. St. Louis is the 
largest city in Missouri. 3. Caesar was emperor of Rome. 4. Great 
Britain is an island. 5. America was discovered by Columbus. 6. There 
was a man named Job living in the land of Uz. 7. John and James 
were sons of Zebedee. 8. Dewey captured Manila. 9. Santiago is a 
city in Cuba. 10. Captain Clarke commanded the Or egon. 11. Arkan- 
sas is south of Missouri. 12. Daniel Boone was a famous hunter. 
13. Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. 14. Solomon was the son 
of David. 15. Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown. 

Make ten sentences containing proper nouns. 

5. The name of a quality or of an action is a Noun. 

EXERCISE 5 

Point out the nouns : — 

1. She admires the beauty of the rose. 2. My brother is fond of 
skating. 3. Out of strength cometh forth sweetness. 4. Honesty is 
the best policy. 5. A soft answer turneth away wrath. 6. The 
treasures of wickedness profit nothing. 7. No one doubts the truth of 
his report. 8. He was afraid of falling. 9. Hunting is forbidden on 
these premises. 10. Obedience is a duty. 11. John was rewarded for 
his perseverance. 12. He was noted for his justice and wisdom. 

13. The warmth and closeness of the room make my head ache. 

14. Writing is harder than reading. 15. What is the size of your slate ? 

Make sentences containing the names of five qualities 
and of five actions. 

REVIEW 

Point out all the nouns : — 

1 . Little Jack Horner 
Sat in a corner, 

Eating a Christmas pie : 
He put in his thumb 
And pulled out a plum 

And said, " What a great boy ami!" 



English Grammar 

2. Some little mice sat in a barn to spin. 
Pussy came by and popped her head in : 
" Shall I come in and cut your threads off ? " 
" Oh no, kind sir, you will snap our heads off." 



The man in the moon 
Came tumbling down 

And asked the way to Norwich : 
He went by the south 
And burnt his mouth 

With eating cold pease porridge. 

The good man sat beside his door 

One sultry afternoon, 
With his young wife singing at his side 

An old and goodly tune. 



5. Oh ! pleasant, pleasant were the days, 
The time when, in our childish plays, 
My sister Emmeline and I 
Together chased the butterfly ! 

6. And the good south wind still blew behind, 

But no sweet bird did follow, 
Nor any day, for food or play, 
Came to the mariner's hollo ! 



7. Clang the bells in all your spires : 
On the gray hills of your sires 
Fling to heaven your signal-fires ! 

8. The glory of the sunset heaven 

On land and water lay, — 
On the steep hills of Agawam, 
On cape, and bluff, and bay. 



Nouns 

9. If dim the gold of life has grown, 
I will not count it dross, 
Nor turn from treasures still my own 
To sigh for lack and loss. 

10. But now his nose is thin, 
And it rests upon his chin 

Like a staff, 
And a crook is in his back, 
And a melancholy crack 

In his laugh. 

1 1 . Now in building of chaises, I tell you what, 
There is always somewhere a weakest spot, — 
In hub, tire, felloe, in spring or thill, 
In panel, or crossbar, or floor, or sill, 
In screw, bolt, thoroughbrace, — lurking still, 
Find it somewhere you must and will, — 
Above or below, or within or without, - 
And that's the reason, beyond a doubt, 
That a chaise breaks down, but doesn't wear out. 



CHAPTER II 

VERBS 

6. A Verb says something about a person or thing. 

EXERCISE 6 

Point out the verbs in the following sentences : — 

i. Birds sing. 2. John ran. 3. The horse stumbled. 4. Flowers 
bloom. 5. Dogs bark. 6. The wind blows. 7. The moon shines. 

8. Fred skates. 9. Ducks swim. 10. Hens cackle. 11. Snowfalls. 

12. The ice broke. 13. The boat sails. 14. The bell rings. 15. The 
parrot talks. 16. Susan plays. 17. Tom works. 18. The lightning 
flashes. 19. The rain pours. 20. Wood burns. 21. The lion roared. 
22. The wind howls. 23. The pot boils. 24. The cat sleeps. 

EXERCISE 7 
Supply a verb after each noun : — 

1. John . 2. Dogs . 3. Rain . 4. Mice . 

5. Stars . 6. Children — — . 7. Tom . 8. The sun . 

9. Day . 10. The cat . 11. Horses . 12. Mary . 

13. George . 14. The clouds . 15. Soldiers . 16. The 

eagle . 17. Cows . 18. Flowers . 19. Ice . 

20. Babies . 

7. The person or thing about which the Verb tells some- 
thing is called the subject of the Verb. 

EXERCISE 8 
Make sentences by placing a subject before each verb : — • 

1. shines. 2. bloom. 3. laugh. 4. neigh. 

5. fly. 6. sews. 7. rang. 8. came. 9. 

falls. 10. walks. 11. plays. 12. shout. 13. flow. 

14. sail. 15. mew. 16. swim. 17. trots. 

18. wriggle. 19. lows. 20. scratch. 

6 



Verbs 7 

8. Some Verbs need other words after them to complete 
the sense by showing what the action expressed by the 
Verb is exerted upon. 

EXERCISE 9 

Point out the verbs : — 

1, Tom broke his arm. 2. Albert threw the ball. 3. Cows eat 
hay. 4. The carpenter builds houses. 5. The cook spoiled the soup. 
6. The farmer ploughed his field. 7. The dairyman sells milk. 
8. The blacksmith shod the horse. 9. The dog caught a rabbit. 
10. Snow covers the playground. 11. The teacher rang the bell. 
12. The bird built a nest. 13. Arthur caught a trout. 14. The 
hunters made a fire. 15. The pony kicked a calf. 16. The rain wet 
my book. 17. Will tore his jacket. 18. Hens lay eggs. 19. The 
miller ground the corn. 20. Clouds hide the sun. 21. The girl set 
the table. 22. Edgar learned his lesson. 

EXERCISE 10 
Supply verbs : — 

1. Cats milk. 2. Cattle grass. 3. Dogs bones. 

4. The sailor the boat. 5. The dogs the cows home. 

6. The captain his sword. 7. Edith a letter. 8. John- 



his finger. 9. David Goliath. 10. The Americans the 

Spaniards. 11. Henry his knife. 12. The farmer his 

horse. 13. The tree fruit. 14. Jane the floor. 15. William 

a funny story. 16. The policeman the thief. 17. Ned ■ 

the prize. 18. The ship a rock. 19. James his pencil. 

20. The kitten the baby. 21. The farmer his corn. 22. The 

shepherd his sheep. 

9. Some Verbs need other words after them to com- 
plete the sense by referring back to the subject. 

EXERCISE 11 

Point out the verbs : — 

1. The window is open. 2. The cake was brown. 3. The ground 
looks wet. 4. The dog seems lame. 5. Shakspere was a poet. 



8 English Grammar 

6. These apples are ripe. 7. The soldiers were weary. 8. Roses 
smell sweet. 9. London is a city. 10. Sugar tastes sweet. 11. The 
trees were full of fruit. 12. The wind is cold. 13. The fire is low. 
14. The ground was hard. 15. George feels hurt. 16. His voice 
sounds harsh. 17. James grew worse. 18. The sky became cloudy. 

EXERCISE 12 
Supply verbs : — 

1. The horse old. 2. The prisoner guilty. 3. The 

girls at home. 4. The boys late. 5. Leaves green. 

6. The grass wet with dew. 7. The door open. 8. The 

board full of holes. 9. The closet musty. 10. Mary 

well. 11. The child ill. 12. Edith afraid. 13. This apple 

sour. 14. Washington a general. 15. Job patient. 

10. The Verb is sometimes made up of two or more 
words. We may say "The dog is barking" as well as 
"The dog barks." 

Some parts of the verb to be {am, is, are, was, were, 
been), some parts of the verb to have {have, has, had), and 
the verbs will, shall, are often used to make up Verbs. 
In the sentence, " He has sold his horse/' has sold is the 
Verb ; in the sentence, "The house has been painted," has 
been painted is the Verb. 

EXERCISE 13 
Point out the verbs : — 

1. The bell has rung. 2. The scholar has done his duty. 3. My 
cousin has been in the country. 4. I shall go next week. 5. The 
dog has caught a mole. 6. The letter will give you the news. 7. John 
was stung by a hornet. 8. The package has been sent. 9. The fire 
was kindled with shavings. 10. The horses had been shod the day 
before. 11. The tree was struck by lightning. 12. The cat has 
caught a mouse. 13. The mouse was caught by the cat. 14. My 
father was standing on the steps. 15. I was expecting a letter. 16. The 
sailor was speaking of his ship. 17. The workmen are eating their 
dinner. 18. I am going to St. Louis to-morrow. 



Verbs 9 

11. There are often two ways of saying the same thing. 
"The tailor made the coat" and "The coat was made by 
the tailor " have the same meaning. 

EXERCISE 14 
Say the same thing in another way : — 

1. Columbus discovered America. 2. The Mississippi River was 
discovered by De Soto. 3. The hawk caught the chicken. 4. Two 
cows were killed by lightning. 5. John sawed a cord of wood. 6. The 
janitor rang the bell. 7. The hunter trained my dog. 8. Hamlet was 
written by Shakspere. 9. A deer was shot by the hunter. 10. The 
teacher praised the class. 1 1 . A branch of the tree was broken by the 
wind. 12. Jack was stung by a hornet. 13. A great victory was won 
by the fleet. 14. The grocer sells flour. 15. The President appointed 
him consul. 

12. The parts of the Verb are often separated. In the 
sentence, " I have never seen him before," the Verb is 
have seen, and never is not a part of the Verb. 

EXERCISE 15 

Point out the verbs : — 

1. The river is slowly rising. 2. I have hardly recovered. 3. The 
officer was greatly annoyed by the boys. 4. The tardy scholar will 
not be rewarded. 5. The child was seriously injured by the fall. 
6. Shooting stars are often seen in November. 7. Richard will certainly 
be here soon. 8. The boy was probably mistaken. 9. He will never 
return. 10. Alice has seldom been tardy. 11. I have now read the 
whole book. 12. The calves were not all sold. 13. He will surely 
come in time. 14. Flowers are sometimes found in March. 15. Such 
work is easily done. 

13. In asking a question the parts of the Verb are 
usually separated. 



io English Grammar 

EXERCISE 16 

Point out the verbs : — 

i. Has the bell rung ? 2. Do all birds sing ? 3. Have you found 
your pencil ? 4. Has the horse been shod ? 5. What have you done 
with my top ? 6. When shall we three meet again ? 7. Where have 
you been ? 8. Have you been to the village ? 9. Have you not seen 
your brother to-day ? 10. Why did you come so late ? 11. Will the 
cherries be ripe in May ? 12. Which of these tops did you get last ? 
13. Are you not going home at noon ? 14. When does the train leave ? 
15. Did you hear the noise last night ? . 

14. Some words may be used either as Nouns or as Verbs. 

EXERCISE 17 

Tell whether the words in italics are used as nouns or 
as verbs : — 

I. Alice has a new watch. 2. Hunters watch their dogs. 3. Ships 
sail on the sea. 4. The sail of the boat was torn by the wind. 5. The 
children took a walk with their father. 6. The boys walk fast because 
they are late. 7. Blackbirds harm no one, but crows do a good deal 
of harm. 8. I know my dog by his bark. 9. Some dogs bark at 
night. 10. The spider caught a fly. 11. Wild geese fly north in 
the spring. 12. Blacksmiths shoe horses. 13. The horse has lost a 
shoe. 14. It was hard work. 15. Printers work at night. 16. We 
drink coffee at breakfast. 17. He gave the poor man a drink of water, 
18. Good boys honor their parents. 19. It is true, upon my honor. 
20. Merchants ship their goods. 21. The ship put to sea. 22. We 
made a long search. 23. Men search for gold. 24. She bought two 
quarts of milk. 25. They milk their cows very early. 26. Dogs and 
cats fight. 27. There was a. fight in the street. 28. Every store has 
a sign. 29. People sign letters. 30. Pick up slicks. 31. The snow 
sticks to my shoes. 

EXERCISE 18 

Make sentences using each word, first as a noun, then 

as a verb : — 

Act. Name. Work. Bite. Swing. Ride. Set. Fall. Praise. 
Shoe. Pin. Stone. Fast. Judge. Hate. Love. Hope. Fear. 



Verbs 1 1 

Wish. Call. Fry. Salt. Plough. Hoe. Seal. Butter. Knock. 
Trip. Jump. Book. Pen. Fold. End. Finish. Score. Drive., 
Hit. Doubt. Step. Pile. File. Spring. Blame. Fire. Rage. 

REVIEW 

Point out the verbs : — 

1 . The little bird sits at his door in the sun. 

2. The shouts of war die on the gale. 

3. Down swept the chill wind from the mountain peak. 

4. The moving moon went up the sky. 

5. I woke, and we were sailing on. 

6. The glittering spears are seen no more. 

7. The rainbow comes and goes, 
And lovely is the rose. 

8. Fades slow their light ; the east is gray; 
The weary warder leaves his tower. 

9. It raised my hair, it fanned my cheek, 

Like a meadow-gale of spring. 

10. The loud wind never reached the ship, • 

Yet now the ship moved on. 

1 1 . The sun now rose upon the right, 

Out of the sea came he. 

12. The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, 

The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea, 
The ploughman homeward plods his weary way. 
And leaves the world to darkness and to me. 

13. I steal by lawns and grassy plots, 

I slide by hazel covers, 
I move the sweet forget-me-nots 
That grow for happy lovers. 

I murmur under moon and stars 

In brambly wildernesses ; 
I linger by my shingly bars ; 

I loiter round my cresses. 



12 English Grammar 

14. I saw him once before, 
As he passed by the door, 

And again 
The pavement stones resound, 
As he totters o'er the ground 

With his cane. 

They say that in his prime, 
Ere the pruning-knife of time 

Cut him down, 
Not a better man was found 
By the crier on his round 

Through the town. 

15. Rats! 

They fought the dogs and killed the cats, 

And bit the babies in their cradles, 
And ate the cheeses out of the vats, 

And licked the soup from the cook's own ladles ; 
Split open the kegs of salted sprats, 
Made nests inside men's Sunday hats, 
And even spoiled the women's chats. 



CHAPTER III 

PRONOUNS 

15. A word used instead of a Noun is called a Pronoun. 

Instead of saying, " Alice found Alice's slate among 
Alice's brothers' books," we say, " Alice found her slate 
among her brothers' books." Instead of saying, "Tom 
found a shell. Tom picked up the shell and brought the 
shell home to Tom's mother," we say, " Tom found a shell. 
He picked it up and brought it home to his mother." 

EXERCISE 19 

Put pronouns for nouns where you can : — 

i. John has lost John's gloves. 2. The children have learned the 
children's lesson. 3. Jane was trying to find Jane's book. 4. Mary 
was vexed because Mary had lost Mary's pencil. 5. The pencil had 
been given to Mary by Mary's father. 6. Edward was sent by Edward's 
father to drive the cows home. 7. Edward found the cows in the pas- 
ture. 8. The child was sleeping in the child's cradle. 9. As George 
was on the way to school, George's teacher met George. 10. When 
John and James came home, John and James found John and James's 
uncle at the house. 

EXERCISE 20 

Point out the pronouns : — 

1. James has lost his top. 2. When did he have it last ? 3. He 
had it this morning. 4. His sister has found it, for she saw where it 
was hidden. 5. He will thank her for it. 6. Give him a pen. 7. The 
teacher will show them where the lesson is. 8. They had lost their 
way in the woods. 9. The tree has shed its leaves. 10. Anne and 

13 



14 English Grammar 

Ruth said the kitten was theirs, but Edith said it was hers. n. The 
farmer has sold his sheep. 12. He sold them to a drover. 13. They 
will now be driven to another place. 14. She saw him coming down 
the road. 15. They did not hear his answer. 

16. Instead of using his own name, the person speaking 
says /, me, my, mine. In speaking of himself and others, 
he says we, us, our, ours. Instead of using the name of 
the person or persons he is speaking to, he says you, your, 
yours. 

EXERCISE 21 

Point out the pronouns : — 

1. Where are you going ? 2. I am on my way to school. 3. You 
have time enough. 4. Here is my hat; where is yours ? 5. I have 
lost mine. 6. Our parents will not let us play marbles on Sunday. 
7. Tell me where the lesson is. 8. We can go swimming in the sum- 
mer. 9. I left my overshoes in the hall; where are yours ? 10. Your 
brother lent me his knife to sharpen my pencil. 1 1 . It was their fault, 
not ours. 12. We have not seen him since he was with you. 13. My 
father met them on the road. 14. He said the knife was yours, but I 
knew it was mine. 15. Your house is larger than ours. 



REVIEW 
Point out the pronouns : — 

1. Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep, 

And cannot tell where to find them ; 
Leave them alone, and they'll come home. 
And bring their tails behind them. 

2. Then he ran to her, and laid 

His head upon her arm, 
As if he said, " I'm not afraid, 
You'll keep me from all harm." 



Pronouns 15 

3. I know it is a sin 

For me to sit and grin 

At him here ; 
But the old three-cornered hat, 
And the breeches, and all that, 

Are so queer ! 

4. Then launched they to the blast, 
Bent like a reed each mast, 

Yet we were gaining fast, 
When the wind failed us. 

5 . Lift your leafy roof for me, 

Part your yielding walls ; 
Let me wander lingeringly 
Through your scented halls. 

6. I met a little cottage girl ; 

She was eight years old, she said ; 
Her hair was thick with many a curl 
That clustered round her head. 

7. My father lived at Blenheim then, 

Yon little stream hard by : 
They burnt his dwelling to the ground, 

And he was forced to fly ; 
So with his wife and child he fled, 
Nor had he where to rest his head. 

8 They are here ! They rush on ! We are broken ! We are gone ! 
Our left is borne before them like stubble on the blast. 



CHAPTER IV 

ADJECTIVES 

17. An Adjective is a word that describes or modifies 
a Noun. 

EXERCISE 22 

Point out the adjectives : — 

I. A red apple is hanging on the old tree. 2. Fred is a bright boy. 
3. Mary likes white roses. 4. Jack has a new suit. 5. The teacher 
took a long walk. 6. The black horse is lame. 7. A wise son maketh 
a glad father. 8. I have lost my new silk umbrella. 9. The hot sun will 
dry the ground. 10. I never saw a purple cow. 11. Tom has a tame 
squirrel. 12. The squirrel has a bushy tail. 13. Alice has a kind 
heart. 14. It was a famous victory. 15. A good name is rather to be 
chosen than great riches. 16. The old soldier has a wooden leg. 
17. The cold wind is driving the white clouds southward. 18. He had 
a Roman nose. 

EXERCISE 23 

Place an adjective before each noun : — 

1. A boy. 2. A girl. 3. A day. 4. men. 

5. A tree. 6. A -; — river. 7. The house. 8. A 

teacher. 9. The man gave the boy a apple. 

10. Fred has a bicycle. 11. The girl has a doll. 

12. The man walks with a cane. 13. The house has blinds. 

14. The boys drank water from the spring. 15. bread 

is made from wheat. 16. It was a day in June. 17. He dropped 

his ball in the road. 18. His pet was a rabbit. 

18. Some Adjectives point out what person or thing 
is meant. 

16 



Adjectives 17 

EXERCISE 24 

Point out the adjectives : — 

1. This room is warm. 2. Give it to this boy. 3. Show that girl 
the way. 4. Those clouds will bring rain. 5. This chair is new; 
that chair is old. 6. This knife is sharp. 7. That man is my uncle. 
8. These marbles and those tops are mine. 9. That man gave these 
little girls candy. 10. My father has an office in this street. 11. That 
house in my grandmother's. 12. These cherries are not ripe. 

19. Some Adjectives show how much or how many. 

EXERCISE 25 

Point out the adjectives : — 

1. There were few scholars present. 2. There is little ink in the 
bottle. 3. Some farmers own much land. 4. All men are mortal. 
5. Is there any water in the bucket ? 6. Most people are fond of 
praise. 7. I have no apples in my basket. 8. I had ten marbles this 
morning. 9. Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November. 
10. The grocer sells sixteen pounds of sugar for one dollar. 11. A 
base-ball team has nine players. 12. If we had more time, there would 
be less haste. 13. Several boys were hurt. 14. Many men, many 
minds. 15. Both doors were locked. 

20. Some Adjectives show in what order. 

EXERCISE 26 

Point out the adjectives : — 

1. Alfred has been promoted from the fifth grade to the sixth grade. 
2. September is the ninth month in the year. 3. His text was the 
second verse of the third chapter of Proverbs. 4. The twenty-second 
day of February is Washington's birthday. 5. The first day of May 
will be a holiday. 6. I saw him the last time he was here. 7. Turn 
to your left at the third corner. 8. You will find him in the first room 
on the third floor. 9. The lesson begins on the fourteenth page. 
10. Take the elevator to the seventh floor. 



1 8 English Grammar 

21. A or an and the are Adjectives. They are some- 
times called Articles. 

An Adjective does not always come before the Noun. 



EXERCISE 27 
Point out the adjectives : — 

I. The sky is blue. 2. The river is deep. 3. The corn is ripe. 

4. A poor man sat by the dusty road. 5. An orange is larger than a 
peach. 6. When blackberries are red they are not ripe. 7. Jane is 
lazy. 8. Jack is very polite. 9. The water from the spring is cool. 
10. The road was rough. 11. The streets were muddy. 12. His name 
was tenth on the roll. 13. The box is not square. 14. Some ink is 
black, and some is blue. 15. The flag is red, white, and blue. 

Adjectives may belong to Pronouns as well as to 
Nouns : — 

I am cold. He is late. Are you tired ? 

22. Some words may be used either as Adjectives or 
as Nouns. 

EXERCISE 28 

Tell whether the words in italics are noun s or adj ectives : — 

1. I heard a strange sound. 2. A sound mind in a sound body. 
3. He paid a heavy fine. 4. She was sewing with a very fine needle. 

5. He had on a light overcoat. 6. The sun gives light by day and the 
moon by night. 7. The pupils did not long remain quiet. 8. There 
was quiet throughout the town. 9. The milkman made his round every 
morning. 10. Is the ball exactly round? 11. Do it in the right way. 
12. Might does not make right. 13. There was a great calm. 14. It 
was a calm day. 15. The table was made of oak. 16. He had an 
oak stick. 17. The land is flat. 18. They live in a flat- 19. They 
danced on the green. 20. Grass is green. 21. Sitting Bull was an 
Indian chief. 22. Character is the chief thing. 



Adjectives 19 



EXERCISE 29 

Use each word, first as a noun, second as an adjective: — 

Kind. Head. Fast. Plain. Fat. Square. Savage. Base. 
Secret. Iron. Paper. Main. Evening. Deep. Light. Signal. 
Cross. Quiet. Steep. Cold. 

23. Some words may be used either as Adjectives or as 
Verbs. 

EXERCISE 30 

Tell whether the words in italics are verbs or adjec- 
tives : — 

1. I saw a £/zWman on the street. 2. The rays of the sun blind 
my eyes. 3. Do not idle away your time. 4. The idle boy did not 
know his lesson. 5. The sky was bright and clear. 6. Policemen 
clear the street. 7. Farmers dry apples. 8. The ink is dry. 9. The 
janitors clean the room every day. 10. Always write on clean paper. 
11. There passed a weary time. 12. You weary me. 13. The ships 
near the land. 14. Christmas was near. 15. He lives on the lower 
floor. 16. Sailors lower the boat. 17. They open their books. 18. The 
window is open. 19. The children returned safe and sound. 20. Loud 
sound the bugles. 

EXERCISE 31 

Use each word first as a verb, then as an adjective : — 

Thin. Long. Right. Lean. Wrong. Warm. Wet. Fast. 
Weary. Fine. Light. Quiet. Left. Round. Clear. Dry. Secure. 
Better. Cross. Level. Last. Second. 

REVIEW 
Point out the adjectives : — 

1. So shines a good deed in a naughty world. 

2. Beware the fury of a patient man. 

3. A little learning is a dangerous thing. 

4. I am never merry when I hear sweet music. 

5. Virtue is bold, and goodness never fearful. 



20 English Grammar 

6. The way was long, the wind was cold, 
The minstrel was infirm and old. 



7. This hermit good lives in that wood 

Which slopes down to the sea. 

8. There was one little Jack, not very long back, 

And 'tis said to his lasting disgrace, 
That he never was seen with his hands at all clean, 
Nor yet ever clean was his face. 

His friends were much hurt to see so much dirt, 
And often and well did they scour ; 

But always in vain, he was dirty again 
Before they had done it an hour. 

The idle and bad may, like to this lad, 

Be dirty and black, to be sure ; 
But good boys are seen to be decent and clean, 

Although they are ever so poor. 

9. A good sword and a trusty hand ! 

A merry heart and true ! 
King James's men shall understand 
What Cornish lads can do. 

10. His hair is crisp, and black, and long, 

His face is like the tan ; 
His brow is wet with honest sweat, 

He earns whate'er he can, 
And he looks the whole world in the face, 

For he owes not any man. 

1 1 . The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, 

The furrow followed free ; 
We were the first that ever burst 
Into that silent sea. 



Adjectives 21 

12. Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-tree's shade, 

Where heaves the iurf in many a mouldering heap, 
Each in his narrow cell forever laid, 

The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep. 

13. My good blade carves the casques of men, 

My tough lance thrusteth sure, 
My strength is as the strength of ten, 
Because my heart is pure. 

14. Now let there be the merry sound of music and of dance, 

Through thy cornfields green, and sunny vines, O pleasant land 
of France ! 



CHAPTER V 

ADVERBS 

24. A word that modifies a Verb is called an Adverb. 

EXERCISE 32 

Point out the adverbs : — 

i . The wind was blowing furiously. 2. The stream flowed rapidly. 
3. The soldiers march slowly. 4. The girls sing well. 5. The bell 
will ring soon. 6. The traveller never returned. 7. James always 
comes in time. 8. I have not seen him. 9. We often meet him on 
the way to school. 10. The sun shines everywhere. II. He seldom 
misses his lesson. 12. He is sometimes mistaken. 13. Perhaps I can 
find it. 14. I earnestly hope you will find it. 15. The child was not 
hurt much. 16. John talks less than most boys. 17. The dog was 
nearly drowned. 18. He answered harshly. 19. She treated us kindly. 
20. You surely know better than that. 21. He is coming now. 
22. Where did you put my hat ? 23. Why did you come so late ? 
24. When did you see him last ? 25. How do you know that ? 

25. An Adverb may also modify an Adjective. 

EXERCISE 33 
Point out the adverbs : — 

1. The sun is very warm. 2. Robert is remarkably tall. 3. No one 
is wholly bad. 4. It became quite dark. 5. There is too much talking 
in the room. 6. The cherries are almost ripe. 7. What is more 
beautiful than the rose ? 8, The well is nearly dry. 9. How long is 



Adverbs 23 

the lesson ? 10. He was so tired he fell asleep. II. It was fearfully 
cold. 12. The lesson was rather long. 13. That is hardly true. 
14. The cold was unusually severe. 15. Cork is much lighter than 
wood. 16. How beautiful this sunset looks ! 17. He was careful 
enough. 18. He is a most diligent student. 19. The sky is slightly 
hazy. 20. Tom is more polite than his brother. 

26. An Adverb may modify another Adverb. 



EXERCISE 34 
Point out the adverbs : — 

1. He ran very rapidly. 2. I saw him quite recently. 3. Write 
more carefully. 4. I see him pretty often. 5. He dresses rather 
neatly. 6. He works somewhat slowly. 7. They walked too fast for 
me. 8. I like it well enough. 9. He likes play far better than he does 
work. 10. He has just now passed the door. 11. Alice is very much 
pleased with her new doll. 12. The horses travelled tolerably fast. 
13. He is much more cheerful now. 14. She writes rather more rapidly 
than she did. 15. He is somewhat less diligent than his brother. 
16. The kite came down too soon. 17. He passes the house very 
frequently. 18. He reads much better than he did a month ago. 

EXERCISE 35 

Supply adverbs : — 

1. We know him . 2. Tom was late. 3. The house is 

painted. 4. Alice is busy. 5 He is satisfied than he 



was. 6. It is warmer to-day. 7. all children like a holiday. 

8. The house was burned to the ground. 9. The pedler is 

honest. 10. I believe he was speaking the truth. 1 1 . The weather 

was cold. 12. The bell will ring . 13. are you going ? 

14. will you return? 15. were you late? 16. I was 

obliged to him. 17. do you like your new neighbor? 18. He 

will be strong again. 19. The wind scattered the leaves . 

20. He missed his lesson. 21. I thought of that. 22. The 

poor man is ill. 23. The sky looks threatening. 24. He 

— consented. 



24 English Grammar 

EXERCISE 36 
Make sentences containing the following adverbs : — 

Certainly. Hardly. Seldom. Often. Very. Soon. Here. Then. 

There. Now. Where. Much. Little. Twice. Hence. Once. 

Almost, 111. Well. Too. Never. Truly. Probably. Fast. Loud. 

Long. Frequently. Sufficiently. Soundly. Gallantly. Sadly. Justly. 

REVIEW 

Point out the adverbs : — 

i. He serves me most who serves his country best. 

2. And what he greatly thought, he nobly dared. 

3. The shades of night were falling fast. 

4. Merrily, merrily, shall I live now 

Under the blossom that hangs on the bough. 

5. Solemnly sang the village choir 
On that sweet Sabbath morn. 

6. In the market-place of Bruges stands the belfry old and brown ; 
Thrice consumed and thrice rebuilded, still it watches o'er the town. 

7. The night is come, but not too soon ; 

And sinking silently, 
All silently, the little moon 
Drops down behind the sky. 

8. Swiftly, swiftly flew the ship, 

Yet she sailed softly too ; 
Sweetly, swgetly blew the breeze — 
On me alone it blew. 

9. Now let us sing, Long live the king, 

And Gilpin, long live he ; 
And when he next doth ride abroad, 
May I be there to see. 



Adverbs 25 



10. I wind about, and in and out, 

With here a blossom sailing, 
And here and there a lusty trout, 
And here and there a grayling. 

11. Till noon we quietly sailed on, 

Yet never a breeze did breathe ; 
Slowly and smoothly went the ship, 
Moved onward from beneath. 

12. Now the darkness gathers, 

Stars begin to peep, 
Birds and beasts and flowers 
Soon will be asleep. 



CHAPTER VI 

PREPOSITIONS 

27. A Preposition is a word used to show the relation of 
a Noun or Pronoun to some other word. 

When we say, "The dog ran round the house," or 
"through the house," or "under the house," or "behind 
the house," the words round, through, under, behind, show 
the relation of the house to the running, of " house " to 
"ran." 

EXERCISE 37 

Point out the prepositions : — 

i. Three black crows sat on a tree. 2. There was an old woman 
who lived in a shoe. 3. Three wise men went to sea in a bowl. 
4. The house stands in a large yard. 5. The sun set behind the hill. 
6. Tom ran down the street. 7. George has written a letter to his 
uncle. 8. The squirrel ran into his hole. 9. We walked along the 
river. 10. There was a dog among the sheep. 11. Moles work under 
the ground. 12. The bird flew out the window. 13. The smoke went 
up the chimney. 14. The horse galloped across the field. 15. The 
hunter jumped over the ditch. 16. I met him coming from school. 
17. He made a whistle with his new knife. 18. Manila is beyond the 
sea. 19. The child was walking between his father and his mother. 
20. Washington was the father of his country. 21. Albert is fond of 
hunting. 22. Mr. Thompson won two prizes at the fair. 23. School 
begins at nine o'clock. 24. Chickens go to roost at night. 

28. When these words are used without Nouns or Pro- 
nouns they become Adverbs. When we say, " The mouse 
ran up the clock," up is a preposition ; when we say, " The 
sun came up," up is an adverb. 

26 



Prepositions 27 



EXERCISE 38 

Tell whether the words in italics are prepositions or 
adverbs : — 

1. Edith stood by her father. 2. Three soldiers were standing by. 
3. The kettle boiled over. 4. The dog jumped over the fence. 5. The 
sun peeped in. 6. I looked in the window. 7. The kite went up and 
down. 8. The policeman walks up and down the street. 9. There 
is a grove behind the house. 10. The lazy boy lagged behind. 1 1 . The 
little ones followed after. 12. My brother lives two miles up the road. 
13. The clouds are sailing above. 14. We met Tom going after the 
cows. 15. We hurried home after the game. 16. The moon appeared 
above the trees. 17. The sailor fell off the horse. 18. The handle 
came off. 19. The soldiers marched on. 20. The bird perched on a 
limb of a tree. 21. The railroad runs through our farm. 22. He read 
the story through. 23. Just then my brother came hurrying along. 
24. The ship sailed along the shore. 25. I have not seen him since 
Christmas. 26. I have not been there since. 27. There is a great 
rock under the tree. 28. I was watching it when it went under. 
29. Did you ever see him before f 30. I shall see him before the holi- 
days. 31. The children played beneath the large oak. 

EXERCISE 39 

Use each word first as a preposition, then as an 
adverb : — 

Down. Across. By. Before. About. On. Through. Along. 
Behind. Beyond. Under. After. Up, Over. Since. Out. Oft. 
Round. Beneath. Above. 

REVIEW 

Point out the prepositions : — 

1 . She dwelt among the untrodden ways 

Beside the springs of Dove. 

2. The flames by fits curled round the bars, 
Or up the chimney crinkled. 



28 English Grammar 

3. Beneath the spreading chestnut tree 
The village smithy stands. 

4. Over the river and through the wood 
To grandfather's house we go. 

5. And neither the angels in heaven above, 

Nor the demons down under the sea, 
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul 
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee. 

6. I stood on the bridge at midnight, 

As the clocks were striking the hour, ' 
And the moon rose o'er the city, 
Behind the dark church-tower. 

7. All in a hot and copper sky, 

The bloody sun, at noon, 
Right up above the mast did stand, 
No bigger than the moon. 

8. Up into the cherry tree 

Who should climb but little me ? 
I held the trunk with both my hands 
And looked abroad on foreign lands. 

9. From breakfast on through all the day 
At home among my friends I stay, 
But every night I go abroad 

Afar into the land of Nod. 

10. I chatter over stony ways, 

In little sharps and trebles, 
I bubble into eddying bays, 
I babble on the pebbles. 

11. How pleasantly the rising moon, 
Between the shadow of the mows, 

Looked on them through the great elm-boughs ! 



CHAPTER VII 

CONJUNCTIONS 

29. A Conjunction is a word used to join words or 
groups of words : — 

Adam and Eve. 
Sooner or later. 
James went to school, but John stayed at home. 

And, or, but are conjunctions. 

EXERCISE 40 
Point out the conjunctions : — 

i. Mary and Alice are sisters. 2. John and James are brothers. 
3. My brother and sister have gone to the country. 4. We do our 
sums on paper or slate. 5. Is that boy your brother or your cousin ? 
6. Is the story true or false ? 7. The soldier was brave but modest. 
8. I called, but he did not answer. 9. He plays ball, but his brother 
does not. 10. He walked to school, but I rode. 11. I looked for it in 
my desk and on the playground, but I could not find it. 12. Frank is 
not at school to-day, nor will he be to-morrow. 

30. Some other conjunctions are if, though, although, 
that, unless, because, lest, as, than, whether. 

EXERCISE 41 
Point out the conjunctions : — 

I. George deserves the prize because he worked hard. 2. You can 
do it if you try. 3. Beware lest you fall. 4. You will never succeed 
unless you take pains. 5. I am certain that I brought the book home. 

29 



30 English Grammar 

6. It is so, though you do not believe it. 7. He went hunting, although 
it was raining. 8. He stumbled as he was going downstairs. 9. Edith 
is older than Will. 10. He asked his father whether he might go. 
11. Wait until I return. 12. We went to walk, although it was wet. 
13. You will not remember unless you pay attention. 14. Socrates 
said that he knew nothing. 15. It was raining so hard that I could 
not go out. 16. Harry knows his lesson better than Will does. 
17. Tell him, if you see him, that I shall leave to-morrow. 18. Tell 
me whether you have seen him lately. 

31. Sometimes Conjunctions come first in the sentence. 

EXERCISE 42 

Point out the conjunctions : — 

1. If I knew, I would tell you. 2. Unless you write it down, you will 
forget it. 3. Although he is small, he is very strong. 4. As it was 
wet, she wore her overshoes. 5. Because the book was torn, he would 
not keep it. 6. That you are wrong, is very evident. 7. If there were 
time, I would tell you the whole story. 8. If you see him, ask him for 
my top. 9. Unless my father consents, I shall not go. 10. If you love 
me, keep my commandments, n. Though he is often reproved, he 
never gets angry. 12. Whether he told the truth, I do not know. 

13. As I was coming up the street, I met Lucy on her way home. 

14. If you wake first, call me. 

EXERCISE 43 
Supply conjunctions : — 

1. Florence Julia are cousins. 2. I have meat no bread. 

3. Is his name Brown Jones ? 4. Is that man your uncle 

your cousin ? 5. My mother sister have gone away. 6. I have 

in my basket two books a napkin.' 7. You will be late you 

do not make haste. 8. the weather was fine, we went to the 

woods. 9. you run, you will not overtake him. 10. I am cer- 
tain he would tell he knew. 11. His father punished him 

he disobeyed. 12. it is cold, he wears no overcoat. 13. The 

soldiers retreated they should be captured. 14. He returned 

sooner I expected. 15. I don't know he is guilty or not. 



Conjunctions 31 



REVIEW 
Point out the conjunctions : — 

1. Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul* 

2. Freely we serve, because we freely lova 

3. Man wants but little here below, 

Nor wants that little long. 

4. And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew 
That one small head could carry all he knew. 

5. A little learning is a dangerous thing : 
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring. 

6. Night's candles are burnt out, and jocund Day 
Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops. 

7. Her modest looks the cottage might adorn, 
Sweet as the primrose peeps beneath the thorn. 

8. Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, 
But to be young was very heaven ! 

9. I slept and dreamt that life was beauty ; 
I woke and found that life was duty. 

10. For some must follow and some command, 

Though all be made of clay. 

11. Whether we look, or whether we listen, 
We hear life murmur, or see it glisten. 

12. The sunshine is a glorious birth ; 

But yet I know, where'er I go, 
That there hath passed away a glory from the earth. 

13. Not enjoyment and not sorrow, 

Is our destined end or way ; 

But to act, that each to-morrow 

Find us farther than to-day. 



CHAPTER VIII 

INTERJECTIONS 

32. An Interjection is a word that calls attention or 
expresses sudden feeling. 

Some of the interjections are : — 

O, oh, ah, hello, alas, hey, hurrah, pshaw, ha, lo, bah, whew, hm, tut, 
aha, fie, etc. 

EXERCISE 44 

Point out the interjections : — 

i. Hello ! is that you ? 2. Oh ! what a pity ! 3. O king, live for- 
ever ! 4. Hurrah ! our boys have won. 5. Ah! what a fall was there, 
my countrymen ! 6. Pshaw ! what difference does it make ? 7. Alas ! 
he is no more. 8. Hey ! Nellie, ho ! Nellie, listen unto me. 9. Bah ! 
this apple's sour. 10. I turned, and lo ! he had vanished. 11. Aha ! I 
have caught you. 12. Hey ! Bob, wait for me! 13. Fie ! you ought 
to be ashamed. 14. Whew ! how the wind blows ! 15. Tut ! my boy, 
never mind. 



32 



CHAPTER IX 

PARTS OF SPEECH 

33. All the words in our language may be divided, ac- 
cording to the part they take in a sentence, into eight 
classes or Parts of Speech. 

The eight parts of speech are : — 

Noun, Pronoun, Verb, Adjective, Adverb, Preposition, 
Conjunction, Interjection. 

A Noun is the name of anything. 

A Pronoun is used, for the most part, to take the place 
of a Noun. 

A Verb says something of the subject. 

An Adjective is used to describe or in some way modify 
a Noun. 

An Adverb is used to modify a Verb, or an Adjective, 
or another Adverb. 

A Preposition shows the relation of a Noun or Pronoun 
to something else in the sentence. 

A Conjunction is used to join words or groups of words. 

An Interjection is used to call attention to or to express 
some sudden feeling. 

34. Some words may be sometimes one part of speech, 
sometimes another, according to their meaning or use in 
the sentence. 

33 



34 English Grammar 

EXERCISE 45 

Tell the part of speech of each italicized word : — 

I. Wisdom is better than rubies. 2. He builded better than he 
knew. 3. I could have better spared a better man. 4. He thought to 
better his condition. 5. Their betters could hardly be found. 6. They 
got the better of him. 7. His was a sound mind in a sound body. 
8. So sound he slept that naught might him awake. 9. Sense and not 
sound must be the principle. 10. How silver-sweet sound lovers' 
tongues! 11. There was not a man to till the ground. 12. The miller 
ground all day from morn //// night. 13. Now all is calm and fresh 
and still. 14. The wind ceased and there was a great calm. 
15. With his name the mothers still their babes. 16. Brandy is made 
in a still. 17. Sunshine broken in the rill, though turned astray, is sun- 
shine still. 18. Music hath power to calm the savage breast. 19. He 
roamed a savage in the woods. 20. The kite went up and down. 
21. He walked up and down the street. 22. She went by dale and 
she went by down. 23. I remember how you downed Hamilton. 
24. They had their ups and downs of fortune. 

EXERCISE 46 

Make sentences containing the following words used as 
different parts of speech : — 

Fast. Round. Bitter. But. Up. Long. Mean. After. Past. 

Like. Square. Wheel. Blow. Water. Bear. Spring. Part. 

Name. Fly. Bark. Blind. Range. Behind. Hire. Place. Kind. 
Fine. Lean. Idle. Trick. 

GENERAL REVIEW 

Tell what part of speech each word is : — 

Laziness travels so slowly that Poverty soon overtakes him. 

1 . " Come, little leaves," said the wind one day, 
" Come over the meadows with me and play. 
Put on your dresses of red and gold ; 
Summer is gone, and the days grow cold." 



Parts of Speech 35 

2. Between broad fields of wheat and corn 
Is the lowly home where I was born ; 
The peach tree leans against the wall, 
And the woodbine wanders over all. 

3. Over the river and through the wood — 

Oh ! how the wind does blow ! 

It stings the toes, 

And bites the nose, 
As over the ground we go. 

4. I know a rosebud fairer far 
Than any buds of summer are ; 
Sweeter than sweet winds of the south : 
Guess me the rosebud — Baby's mouth. 

5. Though your duty may be hard, 

Look not on it as an ill ; 
If it be an honest task, 
Do it with an honest will. 

6. The splendor falls on castle walls 

And snowy summits old in story ; 
The long light shakes across the lakes, 
And the wild cataract leaps in glory. 

7. O thou child of many prayers ! 

Life hath quicksands, life hath snares, 
Care and age come unawares. 

8. The wonderful air is over me, 

And the wonderful wind is shaking the tree ; 
It walks on the water and whirls the mills, 
And talks to itself on the top of the hills. 

9. King James once asked his council if he could not take the 
money of his subjects without the consent of Parliament. Bishop Neile 
answered flatteringly, " Your Majesty may lawfully take the money of 
your subjects, because you are the breath of our nostrils. " The king 
then turned to Bishop Andrews. He replied that he was not skilful 
in such matters, but the king demanded a plain answer from him, and 
he said, " I am sure that your Majesty may lawfully take brother 
Neile's money, because he says you may." 



PART II 



CHAPTER X 

INFLECTION 

35. Inflection, as used in grammar, means a change in 
the form of words to mark a change of meaning. 

When we say boxes, that which distinguishes it from 
box is es; when we say lighted, that which distinguishes it 
from light is ed ; when we say taller, that which dis- 
tinguishes it from tall is er. The es in boxes, the ed in 
lighted, the er in taller, are inflections. 

Inflections are generally at the end of words : churches from church, 
brothers from brother, mother's from mother, oxen from ox, blinded 
from blind, slept from sleep, eaten from eat, looking from look, older 
from old, highest from high. 

Sometimes the change takes place not at the end but within the 
word : men from man, m/ce from mouse, sang from sing, rode from ride. 

36. Some of the parts of speech are inflected, others 
are not inflected. Inflected are : Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs, 
Adjectives, and some Adverbs. Uninflected are : Preposi- 
tions, Conjunctions, Interjections, and some Adverbs. 

The inflection of a Noun or Pronoun is called Declension. 
The inflection of a Verb is called Conjugation. 
The inflection of an Adjective or Adverb is called 
Comparison. 

36 



Inflection 37 

Accordingly, we decline Nouns and Pronouns, we 
conjugate Verbs, we compare Adjectives and Adverbs. 

Our language has few inflections. One part of speech, 
as we have seen, readily passes into another without 
change of form, and can, therefore, be distinguished only 
by the sense ; and so, in the analysis of sentences, function 
or use largely takes the place of form or inflection. 



CHAPTER XI 
NOUNS 

37. Common Nouns, — A name that is common to a 
class of objects is called a Common Noun. City, river, 
man, are common nouns. City is the name given to any- 
large town ; any large stream is a river. 

38. Proper Nouns. — The particular name by which one 
of a class is distinguished from others of the class is called 
a Proper Noun. New York, Potomac, Harold, are proper 
nouns. New York distinguishes the city so named from 
other cities ; Potomac is the name of a certain river in 
Virginia ; Harold is the name by which we distinguish the 
bearer of it from others of the same class — other boys or 
men. 

39. Abstract Nouns. — The qualities of an object are 
indicated by adjectives ; actions, by verbs ; and conditions, 
by verbs or nouns. So we say, "The paper is white," 
" Scholars study," u ^Esop was a slave." But the qualities, * 
actions, and conditions, though not objects of sense, are 
objects of thought, ideas; and these ideas we can express 
by nouns. The quality which the paper has we call 
whiteness ; the action of the scholars, studying ; the con- 
dition of the slave, slavery. Nouns that are the names 
of qualities, actions, or conditions, we call Abstract 
Nouns. 

3» 



Nouns 39 

Abstract Nouns are formed from Adjectives, Verbs, and 
other Nouns. 

(i) From Adjectives : — 

Whiteness, boldness, foolishness, freedom, wisdom, truth, width, 
warmth, honesty, purity, solidity, rapidity, prudence, patience, excellence, 
distance, justice. 

(2) From Verbs : — 

Pleasure, occupation, election, service, judgment, refinement, beliei, 
defence, seeing, learning, reading, proof, strife, choice, knowledge. 

(3) From Nouns : — 

Boyhood, manhood, friendship, kinship, thraldom, sovereignty, 
priestcraft, rascality, mastery, roguery, infancy, heroism, knavery, 
bondage, presidency. 

There are also abstract nouns that are not formed from other words. 
Such are time, space, faith. 

40. Collective Nouns. — A Collective Noun is the name 
of a collection or group of objects of the same class. 
Army, flock, herd, swarm, congress, fleet, nation, are col- 
lective nouns. 

EXERCISE 47 

Point out each noun and tell of what kind it is : — 

1. The miller had a wart on his nose. 2. Mr. Miller lives in New 
York, but is now visiting his cousin, George Brown, in St. Louis. 3. Old 
Ironsides was the popular name of the frigate Constitution. 4. The 
flock of sheep strayed off into another field. 5. Washington was 
remarkable for prudence as well as for courage. 6. Eternal vigi- 
lance is the price of liberty. 7. Let not the sun go down upon your 
wrath. 8. Love is the fulfilling of the law. 9. The horn of the hun- 
ter is heard on the hill. 10. Rowland's regiment is on duty in Cuba. 
11. There never lived a braver youth. 12. Youth is the spring-time of 
life. 13. Hope springs eternal in the human breast. 14. Congress will 



4 o 



English Grammar 



adjourn in two weeks. 15. Excalibur was the name of King Arthur's 
sword. 16. Alexander's horse was named Bucephalus. 17. A little 
learning is a dangerous thing. 18. The committee made a unanimous 
report. 19. Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition. 20. Little 
Laura was a beauty. 21. The kittens are little beauties. 22. In union 
there is strength. 

41. To Nouns belong Gender, Number, and Case, which 
are partly distinguished by inflections. 



GENDER 

42. Gender is a distinction in words corresponding to 
the natural distinction of sex. All nouns may be divided, 
according to gender, into three classes : Masculine, Femi- 
nine, and Neuter. 

(1) Names of male beings are of the Masculine Gender : 
boy, brother, ox. 

(2) Names of female beings are of the Feminine Gender : 
girl, sister, cow. 

(3) Names of objects of neither sex are of the Neuter 
Gender : leaf, stone, hat. 

Note. — Names common to both sexes are sometimes said to be of 
the Common Gender : parent, cousin, bird. 

43. The gender of nouns is distinguished in three 
ways : — 

(1) By different words : — 



Masculine 


Feminine 


Masculine 


Feminine 


man 


woman 


son 


daughter 


boy 


girl 


uncle 


aunt 


father 


mother 


monk 


nun 


brother 


sister 


drake 


duck 


nephew 


niece 


gander 


goose 


king 


queen 


wizard 


witch 


lord 


lady 


bachelor 


maid 



Number 



41 



(2) By 


different endings : 


— 




Masculine 


Feminine 


Masculine 


Feminine 


lion 


lioness 


executor 


executrix 


count 


countess 


sultan 


sultana 


heir 


heiress 


czar 


czarina 


Jew 


Jewess 


marquis 


marchioness 


host 


hostess 


master 


mistress 


actor 


actress 


lad 


lass 


hero 


heroine 







(3) By composition with distinguishing words: — 
Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine 



man-servant 
he-bear 
he-goat 
cock-sparrow 



maid-servant 
she-bear 
she-goat 
hen-sparrow 



bondman 

turkey-cock 

pea-cock 



bondwoman 

turkey-hen 

pea-hen 



Note. — The feminine inflections of purely English origin are -ster 
in spinster (old feminine of spinner), and -en in vixen (old feminine of 
fox) . Many of the words in list (2) are foreign words and form the 
feminine according to the rules of xhe language from which they are 
taken. 

NUMBER 

44. Number, in grammar, is used to indicate whether one 
or more of the objects named by the noun is meant. There 
are two numbers in English, the Singular and the Plural. 
Thus boy, meaning only one, is of the Singular Number ; 
boys, meaning more than one, is of the Plural Number. 

I. . The regular way of forming the Plural is by adding 
s or es to the singular. 
1. By adding s : — 

{a) boys, cows, feathers, shores, tables, doves, hats, 
strings, fields, flowers, metals, marbles, windows. 

(&) Words ending in silent e preceded by a hissing sound 
make another syllable when s is added : horses, houses, 
fences, vices, vases, sizes, bridges. 



42 English Grammar 

2. By adding es : — 

(a) es is added, making another syllable, to nouns ending 
in s, sh, ch (as in church), x, and z: gases, glasses, wishes, 
dishes, bushes, benches, churches, witches, boxes, foxes, 
topazes. 

(b) es is added without making a new syllable : heroes, 
potatoes, halves, wolves. 

Some nouns ending in /or fe change the /to v : — 

beef, beeves ; calf, calves ; loaf, loaves ; shelf, shelves ; thief, thieves ; 
wolf, wolves ; knife, knives ; life, lives ; self, selves. 

Others do not change : — 

grief, griefs ; proof, proofs ; dwarf, dwarfs ; hoof, hoofs ; cliff, cliffs ; 
roof, roofs ; chief, chiefs ; reef, reefs ; scarf, scarfs. 

Nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant change y to 
i and add es : — 

lady, ladies ; baby, babies ; lily, lilies ; mercy, mercies ; pony, ponies ; 
body, bodies ; puppy, puppies ; penny, pennies ; copy, copies ; berry, 
berries ; army, armies. 

When the y is preceded by a vowel the plural is formed 
simply by adding s : — 

boys, keys, joys, chimneys, turkeys, valleys, monkeys, abbeys, alleys. 

Of nouns ending in o, the following add s : — 

quarto, canto, folio, halo, libretto, palmetto, piano, solo, tyro, octavo. 

The following add es : — 

hero, motto, negro, cargo, echo, potato, tomato, mosquito, grotto, 
volcano, calico, buffalo. 

Note. — Letters, figures, and signs are usually made plural by adding 
9 s : mV, 3V. Dot yours Vs and cross your Vs. 



Number 43 

II. A few nouns show an old plural in en : — 

oxen, children, brethren, kine. 

Note.- — In the last three the en has been added to earlier plu- 
rals : childre, br ether, kye. These, therefore, are really double plurals. 

III. A few nouns form their plural simply by change of 
vowel. These are : — 

man, men ; woman, women ; foot, feet ; goose, geese ; tooth, 
teeth ; mouse, mice ; louse, lice. 

IV. Some nouns have the same form for both numbers : — 

deer, sheep, swine. 

45. Nouns with Two Plurals. — Some nouns have two 
plural forms, with different meanings. The most common 
of these are : — 

brother brothers (of a family) brethren (of a church) 

cloth cloths (kinds of cloth) clothes (garments) 

die dies (stamps for coining) dice (cubes for gaming) 

fish fishes (separately) fish (collectively) 

genius geniuses (men of genius) genii (spirits) 

index indexes (to books) indices (in algebra) 

shot shots (discharges of a gun) shot (balls of lead) 

penny pennies (separately) pence (collectively) 

Some nouns that have commonly a regular plural use 
the singular form in such phrases as : — 

Three yoke of oxen, three score, ten fathom, a troop of horse, 

46. Nouns used only in the Plural. — Some nouns have 
no singular. Such are : — 

tongs, shears, scissors, trousers. 

47. Foreign Plurals. — Words borrowed from other lan- 
guages and not yet felt to be true English words form 
their plural according to the rules of the language from 



44 



English Grammar 



which they are borrowed, 
words are : — 



The more common of such 



Singular 


Plural 


Singular 


Plural 


alumna 


alumnae 


antenna 


antennae 


formula 


formulae 


vertebra 


vertebrae 


nebula 


nebulae 


larva 


larvae 


alumnus 


alumni 


terminus 


termini 


radius 


radii 


stimulus 


stimuli 


focus 


foci 


cactus 


cacti 


datum 


data 


memorandum 


memoranda 


dictum 


dicta 


medium 


media 


stratum 


strata 


effluvium 


effluvia 


erratum 


errata 


bacterium 


bacteria 


appendix 


appendices 


vortex 


vortices 


vertex 


vertices 


radix 


radices 


series 


series 


species 


species 


genus 


genera 


apparatus 


apparatus 


phenomenon 


phenomena 


automaton 


automata 


criterion 


criteria 


ganglion 


ganglia 


thesis 


theses 


oasis 


oases 


axis 


axes 


antithesis 


antitheses 


amanuensis 


amanuenses 


hypothesis 


hypotheses 


analysis 


analyses 


crisis 


crises 


ellipsis 


ellipses 


parenthesis 


parentheses 


basis 


bases 






beau 


beaux 


madam 


mesdames 


bandit 


banditti 


dilettante 


dilettanti 


cherub 


cherubim 


seraph 


seraphim 



Some of these words, however, have also an English 
plural : — 

Bandits, cherubs, beaus, memorandums, formulas, etc. 

48. Plural of Compound Nouns. — Compound nouns 
form their plural in several ways: — 



Number 45 

(1) By adding the sign of the plural at the end of the 
compound : — 

Attorney-generals, major-generals, car-loads. 

,(2) By adding the sign of the plural to the principal 
word in the compound : — 

Brothers-in-law, lookers-on, passers-by, letters-patent, courts-martial. 

(3) By adding the sign of the plural to both parts of the 
compound : — 

Knights-templars, men-servants. 

When two or more proper nouns are preceded by a title, 
the title only is pluralized, as : — 

Senators Jones and White, Professors Brown and Hill, the Misses 
Thompson (preferable to "the Miss Thompsons"), Messrs. Hall and 
Wade, Mesdames Sloan and Carpenter. 

EXERCISE 48 

(a) Give the feminine of the following nouns : — 

Bachelor. Boy. Drake. Father. Earl. Heir. Horse. Hus- 
band. King. Lord. Man. Sir. Son. Wizard. Bridegroom. 
Widower. He-goat. Peacock. Marquis. Lad. Master. Host. 
Duke. Actor. Emperor. Signor. Hero. Landgrave. Buck. Ram. 
Czar. Administrator. Alumnus. 

(d) Give the singular of the plural nouns, and the plural 
of the singular nouns : — 

Valley. Mice. Hen. Key. Stories. Allies. Alleys. Wife. 
Roof. Proof. Knife. Selves. Antenna. Dicta. Theses. Fences. 
Witches. Beeves. Turkey. Quarto. Echo. Potato. Solo. Goose. 
Child. Sheep. Penny. Species. Phenomena. Basis. Crisis. 
Vortex. Criterion. Appendices. Apparatus. Genera. Handful. 
Sister-in-law. Looker-on. 



46 English Grammar 



CASE 



49. Nouns have three cases : Nominative, Possessive, 
and Objective. 







Singular 




Nom. 
Poss. 
Obj. 


boy 

boy's 

boy 


lady 

lady's 

lady 

Plural 


child 

child's 

child 


Nom 
Poss. 
Obj. 


boys 
boys' 
boys 


ladies 
ladies' 
ladies 


children 

children's 

children 



The Nominative Case is the case of the subject of the 
verb. In the sentence " Birds fly," birds, the subject of 
the verb, is in the Nominative Case. 

The Possessive Case usually denotes possession : John's 
kite. 

The Objective Case is the case of the object, direct or 
indirect. In the sentence "The hunter killed a bird," bird 
is the direct object of the verb killed. In " He made the 
boy a whistle," whistle is the direct object and boy the 
indirect object of the verb. Bird, whistle, boy, in these 
sentences, are then in the Objective Case. 

EXERCISE 49 

Tell the case. of each noun: — 

1. Harry broke his bicycle. 2. The thief was caught. 3. Leaves 
are falling. 4. Mr. Brown's house was burned. 5. Jane lost her book. 
6. The sun's rays melted the snow. 7. Did John find his top ? 8. The 
frost has killed the flowers. 9. Tom caught the ball. 10. Lightning 
struck the tree. 11. Mary's dress is torn. 12. The dog tore Mary's 



Case 



47 



dress. 13. Chestnuts are ripe. 14. The wind has scattered the leaves. 
15. Has the farmer sown his wheat ? 16. Arthur found a crow's nest. 
17. The rain has stopped the children's game. 18. The merchant kept 
boys', men's, and ladies' shoes. 19. Alice found her brothers' books. 
20. When will the train leave ? 

50. Uses of the Nominative Case. — The Nominative is 
used as follows : — 

(1) As the Subject of a Verb : The sun rises. 

(2) As a Predicate Noun, with certain verbs that have 
not of themselves a complete meaning : The soldier be- 
came captain. 

(3) In Apposition with some other Nominative : Charles, 
the driver, lost his way. 

(4) In Address : John, where have you been ? 

(5) Absolutely with a participle : The rain being over, we 
returned home. This is called the Nominative Absolute. 

EXERCISE 50 

Point out the nouns in the nominative case, and tell in 
which of the five ways each is used : — 

1. Bryant, the poet, translated the Iliad. 2. A heavy rain having 
fallen, the roads were impassable. 3. Boatman, do not tarry. 4. He 
was elected governor. 5. My brother is a lawyer. 6. The sun 
having risen, we set out. 7. An honest man is the noblest work 
of God. 8. Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. 
9. Cicero, the orator, was called Tully by older writers. 10. Henry, 
lend me your knife. 11. The Joneses are our neighbors. 12. Thomas, 
your mother is calling you. 13. Darkness coming on, we stopped at 
the tavern. 14. Benedict Arnold turned traitor. 15. The postman 
-somes, the herald of a noisy world. 16. Kipling, the author of " The 
Jungle Book," is an Englishman. 17. Whitney was the inventor of the 
cotton-gin. 18. Eugene Field became a journalist. 19. Franklin left 
Boston a poor printer and returned a famous statesman. 20. Books 
are the legacies of wise men. 



48 English Grammar 

51. Uses of the Possessive Case. — The Possessive Case 
is so called because it usually denotes possession. It is 
equivalent to of with the Objective Case. "The miller's 
house " is equivalent to "the house of the miller. ,, 

Of with the Objective, however, is not always equivalent to the 
Possessive : " the city of Boston " cannot be changed to " Boston's 
city." On the other hand, the Possessive is not always equivalent to 
of with the Objective : " The Winter's Tale," the name of one of 
Shakspere's plays, means "a tale for winter," not "a tale of winter"; 
" an evening's entertainment " means " entertainment for an evening " ; 
"a Colt's revolver" means "a revolver made by Colt." 

The sign of the possessive singular, 'j, 1 is for an older es, still seen 
in Wednesday (Woden's day). It is also used to form the possessive 
plural of nouns whose nominative plural does not end in s: men's, 
oxen's, deer's. 

In nouns of more than one syllable ending in an s or z sound the s 
is sometimes omitted, to avoid the unpleasant repetition of hissing 
sounds : " For conscience' sake," " Moses' seat," " Lycurgus' sons." 
But where the possessive ending does not sound harsh, it is retained : 
"Jones's house," "St. James's Square," "Morris's sons." 

In compound nouns, and when two or more words are 
closely connected, the possessive inflection comes at the 
end: father-in-law's, man-of-war's, somebody else f s, Smith 
and Brown s store, Beaumont and Fletcher's plays, the 
Queen of England's crown. 

When separate possession is meant, each noun should 
have the sign : John's and Mary's shoes, Webster's and 
Worcester } s dictionaries. 

The possessive plural of nouns forming the plural in s 
or es is indicated by the apostrophe alone: the boys* 
playground, ladies' waiting-room. 

1 The comma above the line before the s is called an apostrophe. 



Case 49 

EXERCISE 51 

Construct sentences containing the possessive case of 
the following nouns and phrases: — 

Sailor. Boy. Dog. Laborers. Workmen. Butterfly. Flies. 
Foxes. Marquis. Dwarf. Wife. Tornado. Geese. Princess. 
Demosthenes. Mason and Dixon. Wright and Ditson. Moses. 
Webster the statesman. The Prince of Wales. The Queen of 
England. Henry the Eighth. George III. President Jackson. 
Brother-in-law. Attorney-general. David the king. 

52. Uses of the Objective Case. — The Objective Case is 
used : — 

(i) As the Direct Object of a Verb: The hunter killed 
a deer. 

(2) As the Indirect Object of a Verb : Robert gave his 
brother a knife. 

(3) After Prepositions : He fell into the pond. They 
returned before night. 

(4) In Apposition with another noun in the Objective 
Case : I know your friend, the judge. 

(5) As the Objective Complement, or Second Object, 
after certain verbs : They elected his father governor. 

(6) Adverbially, to express time, distance, and similar 
relations : I saw him Monday. He stayed two weeks. 
He ran a mile. 

EXERCISE 52 

Point out the nouns in the objective case, and tell in 
which of the six ways each is used : — 

1. The frost has killed the flowers. 2. Have you caught any fish? 
3. He has been here a fortnight. 4. I saw your uncle, Mr. White, in 
the village. 5. I stood on the bridge at midnight. 6. His house is 
ten miles from the station. 7. The President has appointed Mr. Smith 
postmaster. 8. My cousin gave Robert a pony. 9. Have you paid 



50 English Grammar 

the man his wages ? 10. The cat has killed Tony, my canary. 
ii. The dog bit Thomas, the gardener. 12. They elected Harry cap- 
tain of the team. 13. The fish weighed three pounds. 14. We call 
Washington the father of his country. 15. I met Mr. Smith, the post- 
master, in the city last week. 16. He gave the man a blow on the 
cheek. 17. Mary sent her aunt a basket of flowers. 18. We returned 
home after dark. 19. He lectured on Longfellow, the author of 
" Evangeline." 20. The tramp threw a stone at my dog Rover. 21. The 
hotel is three blocks from Broadway. 22. My racket cost five dollars. 
23. The snake measured four feet from head to tail. 24. My little 
brother is ten years old to-day. 

PARSING 

53. To parse a word is to tell what part of speech it is, 
and its relation to other words in the sentence. In parsing 
a Noun the principal thing is to decide in what case it is 5 
and why. 

REVIEW 

Parse each noun : — 

1. Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers. 

2. Imitation is the sincerest flattery. 

3. Prosperity makes friends, adversity tries them. 

4. The groves were God's first temples. 

5. A hard beginning maketh a good ending. 

6. No legacy is so rich as honesty. 

7. All mankind love a lover. 

8. The heavens declare the glory of God ; and the firmament 
showeth his handiwork. 

9. Justice, sir, is the great interest of man on earth. 
10. Sweet mercy is nobility's true badge. 

11. At Christmas play and make good cheer, 
For Christmas comes but once a year. 

12. What are the wild waves saying, 

Sister, the whole day long ? 

13. One morn a Peri at the gate 
Of Eden stood disconsolate. 



Parsing 51 



14. Thus done the tales, to bed they creep, 
By whispering winds soon lulled to sleep. 

15. O judgment ! thou art fled to brutish beasts, 
And men have lost their reason. 

16. Fire in each eye, and papers in each hand, 
They rave, recite, and madden round the land. 

17. We are such stuff 
As dreams are made of, and our little life 
Is rounded with a sleep. 

18. From morn 

To noon he fell, from noon to dewy eve, 
A summer's day. 

19. They sang of love, and not of fame ; 

Forgot was Britain's glory ; 
Each heart recalled a different name, 
But all sang " Annie Laurie." 

20. The world goes up and the world goes down, 

And the sunshine follows the rain ; ' 
And yesterday's sneer and yesterday's frown 
Can never come again. 



CHAPTER XII 
PRONOUNS 

54. The Pronoun, as we have seen, is so called because it 
is used for a Noun. But this definition is not broad enough 
to cover all uses of pronouns. The pronouns /, we, you> 
who, this, that, express relations of person and place that 
the noun alone could not express. In " He that runs may 
read," he and that cannot be replaced by nouns. Pronouns, 
then, are really reference words, pointing out persons and 
things, rather than standing for nouns. 

55. There are five classes of pronouns : — 

(i) Personal : / lent him my knife. 

(2) Interrogative : Who did this ? 

(3) Relative: The boy that borrowed my top lost it. 

(4) Demonstrative : Who did this ? 

(5) Indefinite : Somebody said so. 

PERSONAL PRONOUNS 

56. Personal Pronouns are so called because they are used 
to distinguish the three grammatical Persons, the speaker 
(First Person), the person spoken to (Second Person), and 
the person or thing spoken of (Third Person). Like nouns, 
they have Gender, Number, and Case, and are declined as 
follows : — 

52 



Personal Pronouns 



53 



First Person 


Second Person 




Third Person 




Singular 




Masc. 


Fern. 


Neut. 


Nom. 


I 


thou 


he 


she 


it 


Poss. 


jmy 
( mine 


(thy 

i thine 


his 


<her 
c hers 


its 


Obj. 


me 


thee 


him 


her 


it 


Plural 












Nom. 


we 


you (ye) 




they 




Poss. 


( our 
( ours 


(your 
( yours 




( their 
( theirs 




Obj. 


us 


youj' 




them 





Personal pronouns, unlike nouns, have different forms for the objec- 
tive and nominative cases : I, me ; he, him, etc. The only exceptions 
are you and it, which have the same form in the objective case that 
they have in the nominative. 

57. The possessive forms my, thy, her, its, our, your, their 
are never used without a noun following ; the forms mine, 
thine, hers, ours, yours, theirs are used when no noun fol- 
lows : — 

He is my friend and yours. 

He is your friend and mine. 

Is this her book ? No, that book is hers. 

It is our turn, not theirs. 

It is their turn, not ours. 

His is used both ways : — 

Is this his hat ? Yes, that hat is his. 

In older English mine and thine were used instead of my and thy 
before words beginning with a vowel : Mine equal ; thine enemy. 

58. The forms of the second person singular, thou, thy, 
thine, thee, are used now only in poetry and prayer. In 
ordinary speech we use instead the plural forms, you, your, 
yours. The plural verb is always used with you, even 
when only one person is addressed : Were you there ? I was. 



54 English Grammar 

In older English, as in the English Bible (i6n),ye is regularly used 
for the nominative, and you for the objective : " No doubt but ye are 
the people and wisdom shall die with you." Ye is sometimes found 
in modern poetry ; but ordinary speech uses you for both nominative 
and objective. 

The original possessive of it was not its, but his : " If the salt have 
lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted ? " Ifs, in modern English, 
is an abbreviation of it is, and should never be used for its. 

The plurals we, you, and they are sometimes used indefinitely, with- 
out reference to any particular person : — 

We seldom find honor among thieves. 
You cannot eat your cake and have it too. 
They say so. 

Your worm is your only emperor for diet. 
Your real grumbler never smiles. 

It is used after certain verbs indefinitely, as a sort of cognate object 
(see 84) : foot it, rough it, queen it, fight it out. 

59. Compound Personal Pronouns. — The Compound Per- 
sonal Pronouns are formed by adding self {selves) to forms 
of the Personal Pronouns. They are : myself, thyself, your- 
self, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves. 

These Compound Personal Pronouns are used : — 

(i) As Reflexive Pronouns : I hurt myself. He praises 
himself. 

A Reflexive Pronoun is always the object (direct or in- 
direct) of a verb, or the object of a preposition, and refers 
to the same person or thing as the subject : We should 
never praise ourselves. He got himself a new hat. She 
thinks only of herself. 

In older English the simple pronouns are used as reflexiveso This 
use still occurs in poetry, and sometimes also in prose, especially in the 
case of the indirect object : Now I lay me down to sleep. My father 
has bought him a new horse. 



Personal Pronouns 55 

(2) As Emphatic Pronouns emphasizing a noun or pro- 
noun already used: I saw him myself. He told me so 
himself. She herself knows it is false. I asked the gov- 
ernor himself. 

The compound pronoun is sometimes used instead of the simple 
personal pronoun: Here are tickets for yourself and friends. 

Self {selves) is sometimes used separately as a noun : Tarquin's 
self; my woful self; men may rise on stepping stones of their dead 
selves to higher things. 

EXERCISE 53 

Point out the personal and the compound pronouns, and 
tell the person, number, and case of each. 

1. Love thy neighbor as thyself. 2. It is I ; open the door. 3. Take 
heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them. 4. Thy 
father's friend forget thou not. 

5. His flock he gathers and he guides 
To open downs and mountain sides. 

6. Rocked in the cradle of the deep, 
I lay me down in peace to sleep. 

7. Who gives himself with his alms feeds three, — 
Himself, his hungry neighbor, and me. 

8. Theirs not to make reply, 
Theirs not to reason why, 
Theirs but to do and die. 

9. Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul ! 

10. Riches certainly make themselves wings. 

1 1 . What is yours is mine, and all mine is yours. 

12. "God save thee, Ancient Mariner, 

From the fiends that plague thee thus ! 
Why look'st thou so ? " " With my crossbow 
I shot the Albatross." 



56 English Grammar 



INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS 

60. The Interrogative Pronouns are used in asking 
questions. They are who, which, and what. 

Who is used only of persons : Who is your teacher ? 

What is used only of things : What did he want ? 

Which is used of either persons or things : Which of 
you came first? Which will you have, the apple or the 
pear ? 

61. Which and what are uninflected, that is, have each 
only one form. Which is used as singular and plural, 
nominative and objective. What is used for both cases, 
but is always singular. They have no possessive case. 

Who is declined as follows : — 

Nom. who 
Poss. whose 
Obj. whom 

It has no variation of form for gender or number. 

Whether, meaning " which of the two," is now obsolete, but is famil- 
iar from its use in Scripture : " Whether is greater, the gift or the 
altar ? " 

EXERCISE 54 

Parse the interrogative pronouns : — 

1. With whose permission did he leave hoane ? 2. Who saw him 
last ? 3. What does he want ? 4. Which do you prefer, the red or 
the blue ? 5. With whom were you riding yesterday ? 6. Whose 
horse did you drive ? 7. What was the cause of the outcry ? 8. To 
whom did you give the apple ? 9. Who is that standing on the bridge ? 
10. What is the name of that flower ? 11. Which is the wind that 
brings the rain ? 12. What have you in your pocket ? 13. Here are 
two marbles; which will you take ? 14. Whom do you wish to see ? 
15. Which passed the better examination, Mary or Alice ? 16. Whose 
house is that ? 17. Who killed Cock-Robin ? 18. What is the mean- 



Relative Pronouns 57 

ing of interrogative? 19. What did you hit him with ? 20. What did 
you tell him for ? 21. Whom do you want to go with ? 22. Which 
of the boys do you like best ? 23. What is corn worth this week ? 
24. What are the wild waves saying ? 25. Who were there? 

RELATIVE PRONOUNS 

62. The word or group of words to which a pronoun 
refers is called the Antecedent of the pronoun, so named 
because it commonly comes before the pronoun. 

Pronouns which join the clause in which they stand to 
their antecedents are called Relative Pronouns. 

In the sentence, — 

This is the house that Jack built, 

that is a relative pronoun. It is a pronoun because it stands for the 
noun house ; it is a relative pronoun because it joins the clause " that 
Jack built " as a modifier to its antecedent house. 

Relative pronouns, then, are not only reference words, 
like other pronouns, but are also conjunctive words. They 
are, however, not to be confounded with conjunctions, 
for they have the same case relations as the personal 
pronouns. 

63. The relative pronouns are who, which, what, and 
that. That and what are indeclinable, and are used only 
in the nominative and objective cases. 

Who and which are declined as follows : — 



Norn. 


who 


which 


Poss. 


whose 


[whose] 


Obj. 


whom 


w r hich 



Who, which, and that are singular or plural, according to 

the number of the antecedent. What is always singular. 

Which is really indeclinable, but the possessive case of 



58 English Grammar 

who is frequently used as a possessive of which. We may 
say, " A triangle whose sides are equal/' as well as, " A tri- 
angle the sides of which are equal.'' 

That was originally a demonstrative pronoun, and is the oldest rela- 
tive ; who, which , and what, originally interrogative pronouns, came 
later to be used as relatives. 

64. As Relative Pronouns, who refers to persons only, 
which to things, and that to either persons or things. Which 
was formerly used for persons as well as for things, as in 
the older form of the Lord's Prayer : " Our Father zvhich 
art in heaven." We have already seen that as an inter- 
rogative which is used indifferently for persons and things. 

65. The Relative Pronoun takes its person and number 
from its antecedent, but its case is determined by its use : — 

I, who am your chief, command you. 
. I, whom they hated, was their benefactor. 

Thou, who seest all things, seest me. 
. He whose tongue is loudest thinks the least. 

66. What differs from the other relatives in that it has 
no antecedent. In meaning it contains its own antecedent. 

Thus in — 

What is new is not always true, 

what is equivalent in meaning to that which; and we may say 

That which is new is not always true, 

where that, subject of is not always true, is the antecedent of which, 
subject of is new. In parsing, however, it is better not to resolve what 
into that which. In the sentence above, parse what as the subject of 
is new; and what is new as the subject of is not always true. See 
Noun Clauses, 142? 1 • "1 

Who, also, is sometimes used without an antecedent expressed: 
u Who steals my purse steals trash." 



Relative Pronouns 59 

67. Compound Relative Pronouns. — ever and -soever, 

affixed to who, which, and what, form the Compound 
Relatives whoever, whichever, whatever, etc. They have 
no antecedent expressed, and refer to no definite person 
or thing, but have the same connective force as the simple 

relatives : — 

Whoever asks may have. 

Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to 
them. 

Who in these compounds is declined : Whosoever, whose- 
soever, whomsoever. 

68. As and But as Relatives. — The conjunction as is 

used, especially after suck, with the force of a relative 

pronoun : 

We are such stuff as dreams are made of. 

But, in such sentences as — 

There is no one but knows this, 

is equivalent to who . . . not, and takes therefore the place 
of a relative. 

69. Relative Omitted. — The relative pronoun is some- 
times omitted, as in — 

He is the very man I met before. 
Have you read the book I gave you ? 

where the objects of met, gave, are to be supplied in 
parsing. 

70. To parse a Relative Pronoun, give its case and its 
agreement with its antecedent, thus : — 

A British officer, who saw the battle, has written an account of it. 

Who is a relative pronoun, in the third person, singular number, 
and masculine gender, to agree with its antecedent officer, and in the 
nominative case, because it is the subject of the verb saw. 



60 English Grammar 

The British officer whom you met yesterday has been ordered home. 

Whom is a relative pronoun, in the third person, singular number, 
and masculine gender, to agree with its antecedent officer, and in the 
objective case, because it is the object of the verb met. 

What he says is true. 

What is a relative pronoun, without antecedent expressed ; it is in 
th t objective case, because it is the object of the verb says. The clause 
what he says is then to be parsed as subject of the predicate is true. 

EXERCISE 55 
Parse the relative pronouns : — 

I. I have lost the book that you lent me. 2. The tailor that lived 
on Broadway has moved. 3. The rain which threatened has passed 
over. 4. Have you seen the sailor that returned from Hawaii last 
week ? 5.I know a little boy whose name is Jack. 6. Thomas Jeffer- 
son, who wrote the Declaration of Independence, also founded the 
University of Virginia. 7. The Philippine Islands, which the Ameri- 
cans acquired from Spain, are very fertile. 8. Rudyard Kipling, whom 
Americans at first disliked because he criticised them severely, has since 
become a favorite author in the United States. 9. Lightning struck 
the tree under which we were sitting. 10. My friend whom you met is 
a doctor. 11. He laughs best who laughs last. 12. They who sow 
the wind reap the whirlwind. 13. Benjamin Franklin, who wrote " Poor 
Richard's Almanac, 7 ' was famous as a scientist. 14. The people whose 
houses were burned lost heavily. 15. He was always just, even to peo- 
ple whom he disliked. 16. Who is the man that you were talking 
with just now ? 17. The book that you spoke of is in the library. 
18. The catalogue that you sent for will come to-morrow. 19. Your 
sister has found the purse you lost yesterday. 20. That's the funniest 
story I ever heard. 21. He knew me the minute he saw me. 22. The 
book be wants is in my desk. 23. I, who am known to you all, give 
you my word for it. 24. O thou that nearest prayer, to thee shall all 
flesh come. 25. Give me what you have in your hand. 26. Did 
you get what you wanted ? 27. Whatever he undertakes prospers. 
28. Who breaks, pays. 29. Whoever crosses this line does so at his 
peril. 30. Such as are worthy will be promoted. 31. There is no one 
in the school but likes him. 



Demonstrative Pronouns 6 1 



DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS 

71. Demonstrative Pronouns point out emphatically the 
person or thing referred to. They are this, plural these, and 
that, plural those. The former stands for a nearer, the 
latter for a more remote, person or thing. They are not 
inflected for case ; the same form is used for the nomina- 
tive and objective, and the possessive is wanting. 

This is the book you asked for. 
That is yours ; this is mine. 
These are the men I told you of. 
Those are the books I want, not these, 

INDEFINITE PRONOUNS 

72. The following words, some of which are properly 
adjectives and others nouns, have, when used substan- 
tively, a pronominal value and are classed together as 
Indefinite Pronouns : — 

Any, any one, anybody, anything ; 
Some, some one, somebody, something ; 
One, none, nobody, nothing ; 

Aught, naught ; both ; much, little ; many, several, few, all ; 
either, neither; each; such. 

One and its compounds, somebody and the like, other and 
another, either and neither, have a possessive case : One's 
duty. Somebody s book. One and other have the plurals 
ones, others. 

73. Reciprocal Pronouns. — Eaeh other, one another, are 
called Reciprocal Pronouns. In the sentence, " They 
helped one another," one is in the nominative case, in 
apposition with they ; another is in the objective case, 
object of the verb Jielped. 



62 English Grammar 

In such sentences as, " I tell you what," what is neither relative nor 
interrogative, but indefinite, and should be parsed as such. 

EXERCISE 56 

Parse the demonstrative and the indefinite pronouns : — 

i. Have you seen this before? 2. That is what I asked you. 3. Are 
these the goods you ordered? 4. This is the most interesting story I 
ever read. 5. Those who come first will get the best seats. 6. Has 
any one been in this morning? 7. He promised to give special 
attention to those who apply by letter. 8. I preferred these to those. 
9. One never knows what may happen. 10. Each respected the other. 
11. One's conduct speaks louder than one's words. 12. They kept 
each other's secrets. 13. It is somebody else's turn to go. 14. That 
is nobody's business but his. 15. Some went one way, some another. 
16. I have no ink; please give me some. 17. If any one comes, tell 
him to wait. 18. Do you need anything more? 19. Both of them 
may go, for aught I care. 20. Neither of these answers is right. 21. All 
of you made the same mistake. 22. Some said yes, others no. 23. Of 
such is the kingdom of heaven. 24. Few can tell what he really thinks. 
25. When he is angry he stops at nothing. 26. That is all I have to 
say. 27. Somebody has scribbled on my paper, and I haven't any that 
I can use. 28. Which pen do you want, this or that ? 29. Give me 
both. 30. He has seen much, but has learned little. 31. Each of them 
gave a different answer. 32. Few shall part where many meet. 

REVIEW 

Parse the nouns and the pronouns : — 

1 . Talent is that which is in a man's power ; genius is that in whose 
power a man is. 

2. There are some that Bear a grudge even to those that do them 
good. 

3. I am a part of all that I have met. 

4. Go, get you to your house. 

5. Whoever fights, whoever falls, 
Justice conquers evermore. 



Pronouns 63 

6. Who is he 

That he should rule us ? Who hath proven him 
King Uther's son ? 

7. Rattle his bones over the stones ! 

He's only a pauper whom nobody owns ! 

8. Oh, don't you remember sweet Alice, Ben' Bolt, 

Sweet Alice, whose hair was so brown ; 
Who wept with delight when you gave her a smile, 
And trembled with fear at your frown ? 

9. That man may last, ljut never lives, 
Who much receives, but nothing gives ; 
Whom none can love, whom none can thank, — 
Creation's blot, creation's blank. 

10. The spirit who bideth by himself 

In the land of mist and snow, 
He loved the bird that loved the man 
Who shot him with his bow. 

11. How happy is he born and taught, 

That serveth not another's will ; 
Whose armor is his honest thought, 
And simple truth his utmost skill ! 

12. That time of year thou mayst in me behold 

When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang 
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, 
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sangc 

Blest are those 

13. Whose blood and judgment are so well commingled, 
That they are not a pipe for fortune's finger 

To sound what stop she please. Give me that man 
That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him 
In my heart's core, ay, in my heart of heart, 
As I do thee, 



CHAPTER XIII 

ADJECTIVES 

74. Adjectives may be divided into three classes : — - 

(i) Adjectives of Quality: J\.good horse. A wise man. 
Cold weather. 

(2) Numeral Adjectives : Five days. Three times. The 
seventh man. 

(3) Pronominal Adjectives: This class. That boy. Which 
book ? 

NUMERAL ADJECTIVES 

75. Numerals are of two kinds, Cardinals and Ordinals. 
The Cardinals are those which tell how many : one, tzvo, 
three, twenty, hundred, thousand. 

The Ordinals are those which tell position in a series : 
first, second, third, twentieth, hundredth, thousandth. 

The ordinals (except first and second) are also used to tell the parts 
into which a quantity or thing is divided, and have then the construc- 
tion and inflection of nouns : Two-t/iirds of the crew were drowned. 
Three-fift/is of twenty is twelve. 

PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES 

76. Pronominal Adjectives fall, according to their mean- 
ing, into the following classes : — 

(1) The possessive forms of the personal pronouns have 
the value of adjectives, and are by many grammarians 
called Possessive Adjectives : My book. Your pencil. 

64 



Pronominal Adjectives 65 

(2) The interrogatives which and what are used as 
Interrogative Adjectives : Which book do you want ? What 
answer did he make ? 

(3) Which and what are also used as Relative Adjectives : 
He was two years in Germany, during which time he heard 
the lectures of several famous scholars. He spent what 
money he had. 

The Compound Relatives, whatever, whichever, etc. (not whoever), are 
used as adjectives, and may then be called Indefinite Relative Adjectives ; 
but it would be better to call them simply Indefinite Adjectives : — 

Whichever road he takes, he will find it bad. 

(4) The Demonstrative Adjectives are this (plural these), 
that (plural those), yon, and yonder : These men. That 
tree. Those friends of yours. Yonder ivy-mantled tower. 
Yon glittering star. 

These and those are the only adjectives in English that show inflec- 
tion for number. Yon and yonder are not used as pronouns. 

(5) One, a?iy, some, no, every, other, another, both, many, 
several, few, all, much, little, either, neitlier, former, latter, 
each, such, — many of which have already been described 
as indefinite pronouns, — may be used as adjectives, and 
are then called Indefinite Pronominal Adjectives: — 

Both horses were stolen. 

Such men are dangerous. 

Many men, many minds. 

Every member of the class was present. 

Each day brings its pleasures. 

No man knoweth his sepulchre. 

Note. — Many a, as in "I have heard it many a time," may be 
caken together and parsed as one adjective. Though it is plural in 
meaning, it is singular in form, and requires always a singular noun. 



66 English Grammar 

(6) The adjectives a or an and the are called Articles. 
A, an, is called the Indefinite Article. 

An is used before words beginning with a vowel sound, and often 
before h in unaccented syllables, as in historical, where h is scarcely 
heard. A, a dipt form of an, is used before words beginning with a 
consonant sound : — 

A tree. An apple. A history. A horse. A university. An his- 
torical novel. An heroic deed. 

The indefinite article is from old English an, which gives also our 
numeral one. "A child" means any one of the class " children." 

Note i. — The indefinite article is used idiomatically With few, great 
many, hundred, etc., to form an adjective phrase limiting nouns in the 
plural: A few days. A great many words. A hundred times. The 
pronominal use, on the other hand, of few, etc., is seen in: A few of 
my friends. A great many of them. 

Note 2. — The a in asleep, a-fishing, aboard, is not the article, but 
a reduced form of the preposition on. 

The is called the Definite Article. It is a weakened 
form of an old English demonstrative which survives in the 
modern that, and it retains a pronominal {i.e. reference) 
force in almost all of its modern uses. These uses are as 
follows : — 

1. It marks a thing as already described, or mentioned, or other- 
wise sufficiently known to the hearer or reader : The sun. The Atlan- 
tic. Give me the change. 

2. It marks a thing to be explained by some following word, phrase, 
or clause : The next day. The earliest opportunity. The book you 
asked for. 

3. It is sometimes used with the singular of a class-noun to denote 
that the whole class is meant: The fool hath said in his heart, 
there is no God. The mocking-bird is sometimes called the American 
nightingale. 

Note. — In such sentences as, "The longer the day, the shorter 
the night," the before longer and shorter is not the article, nor an 



Comparison 67 

adjective at all. It is an old case of the demonstrative pronoun that, 
modifying the comparative to which it is prefixed, and means by that : 
By that the day is longer, by that the night is shorter. The in this con- 
struction is to be parsed as an adverb. 

COMPARISON 

77. With the exception of this and that, which form the 
plurals these, those, adjectives have in English no inflection 
for gender, number, or case. Most adjectives, however, 
have an inflection to distinguish degrees of the quality or 
quantity indicated. This is called Comparison. 

There are three degrees of comparison : Positive, Com- 
parative, Superlative. 

The simple adjective, without inflection, is said to be in 
the Positive Degree : sweet, hard, tall. 

The form of the adjective used in comparing one object 
with another is called the Comparative Degree : sweeter, 
harder, taller ; he is taller than I am. 

The form of the adjective which is used to denote the 
quality or quantity in the greatest degree is called the Su- 
perlative Degree : sweetest, hardest, tallest; he is the tallest 
man I ever saw. 

78. The comparative degree is commonly formed by 
adding er to the simple adjective, and the superlative by 
adding est, as in the examples given above. 

The comparative and superlative degrees of some adjec- 
tives are formed by the use of the adverbs more, most, to 
avoid the formation of long and clumsy words ; thus the 
comparative of beautiful is more beautiful, not beautifuller. 
Some adjectives may be compared in both ways : clearer 
or more clear. 

Another way of comparing adjectives is by means of the 
adverbs less and least : less beautiful, least beautiful, 



68 



English Grammar 



79. The following adjectives are irregularly compared : — 
Positive Co?nparative Superlative 



good 


better 


best 


bad, evil, ill 


worse 


worst 


far 


farther, further 


farthest, furthest 


little 


less, lesser 


least 


much, many 


more 


most 


late 


later, latter 


latest, last 


near 


nearer 


nearest, next 


nigh 


nigher 


nighest, next 


old 


older, elder 


oldest, eldest 


hind 


hinder 


hindmost, hindermost 





inner 


inmost, innermost 




outer 


outmost, outermost 





utter 


utmost, uttermost 




upper 


upmost, uppermost 




former 


foremost, first 



Some adjectives cannot, because of their meaning, be compared. 
Such are wooden, golden, sufficient, inimitable, square, perfect, and the 
like. Many of them, however, are often loosely used in the compara- 
tive and superlative. In the Bible we read : li A more perfect knowl- 
edge " ; and in Milton, " chief est" etc. 

80. The adjective with the definite article is often used 
without a noun, when the noun may be readily supplied : 
The rich are not always happy. None but the brave 
deserves the fair. 

81. Nouns in English are not infrequently used with the 
force of adjectives : The angel choir. Sunday papers. A 
country boy. A gold ring. 

REVIEW 

Point out the adjectives, tell to which class each belongs, 
and with what noun or pronoun it is to be construed : - — 

1 . Man's feeble race what ills await ! 

2. He fed the hungry and clothed the poor. 



Review 69 

3. Great is Diana of the Ephesians ! 

4. The One remains, the many change and pass. 

5. Unto the pure all things are pure. 

6. Every seventh year was held sacred by the Jewish people. 

7. The needy traveller, serene and gay, 

Walks the wide heath, and sings his toil away. 

8. Happy ! ah, ten times happy had I been, 

If Hampton-Court these eyes had never seen ! 

9. Hard by yon wood, now smiling as in scorn, 
Muttering his wayward fancies, he would rove. 

10. This seraph band, each waved his hand, 
No voice did they impart. 

1 1 . My loved, my honored, much respected friend ! 

No mercenary bard his homage pays, 
With honest pride I scorn each selfish end, 
My dearest meed, a friend's esteem and praise. 

12. Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-tree's shade, 

Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap, 
Each in his narrow cell forever laid, 

The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep. 

13. That low man seeks a little thing to do, 

Sees it and does it ; 
This high man, with a great thing to pursue, 
Dies ere he knows it. 

14. Remote, unfriended, melancholy, slow, 
Or by the lazy Scheld or wandering Po ; 
Or onward, where the rude Carinthian boor 
Against the houseless stranger shuts the door ; 
Or where Campania's plain forsaken lies ; 

A weary waste expanding to the skies ; 
Where'er I roam, whatever realms to see, 
My heart, untravelled, fondly turns to thee. 



CHAPTER XIV 

VERBS 

82. The Verb says something of a subject. It expresses 
either an act or a state. 

Some verbs are used in the expression of both act and 
state, with a difference of meaning : — 

He looked calmly on (act). He looked calm (state). 

I felt his pulse (act). I felt sleepy (state). 

83. Verbs may be divided into two classes, Transitive 
and Intransitive. 

A Transitive Verb is one that takes an object : That boy 
struck my dog. He found his book. I shot a hawk. 

An Intransitive Verb is one that does not take an 
object : The horse ran off. The rain fell in torrents. 
There it lies. 

In intransitive verbs the act is confined to the subject ; 
in transitive verbs the act passes over to some object (hence 
the name transitive, " passing over "). 

84. Many transitive verbs are used intransitively : The 
chain broke. The smoke lifted from the field. The color 
does not shozv well by lamp-light. 

On the other hand, some intransitive verbs are also used 
transitively. He ran a splinter in his hand. Walk your 
horses over this bridge. The farmer grows wheat in this 
field. His brother sailed the boat into port. 

7 o 



Verbs 71 

Many intransitive verbs take an object of kindred meaning, but are 
not to be parsed as transitive verbs : To die the death of the righteous. 
He has slept his last sleep. I dreamed a fearful dream. This is called 
the Cognate Object. 

85. The verb be has a peculiar value. In the sentence 
" Tom is industrious," the adjective industrious is what 
is said of Tom, and the verb is really says nothing; it 
expresses neither an act nor a state. Yet without the is 
we have no sentence ; " Tom industrious " makes no state- 
ment about Tom. Thus we arrive at the true value of be. 
It enables us to make an assertion out of a noun or an ad- 
jective, though it contains no meaning of itself. In "Tom 
works/' works is a verb, expressing an act; in "Torn is 
industrious," is is a verb, giving the form of assertion, but 
asserts nothing until it is completed by the word that tells 
us what Tom is. Because of its office of connecting the 
subject with the essential predicate, it is often called the 
copula, and the word that completes the predicate is called 
the complement. 

Other verbs that have this copulative function are seem, 
become, and, sometimes, many other verbs such as appear, 
look, feel, taste, grow, turn. These verbs differ from be in 
having a certain meaning of their own, but are like it in 
requiring some other word to make a complete predicate. 
Thus in " Arnold turned traitor," turned denotes action, 
but is not complete without the noun traitor, and, in so far- 
serves as copula between Arnold and traitor. 

The complement after these verbs always refers to the 
subject, and is carefully to be distinguished from the object 
of a transitive verb. In " Caesar was consul," consul is not 
the object of was, for was denotes no action and can there- 
fore have no object. Nor is traitor in the example above 
the object of turned, for turned does not here represent an 



72 English Grammar 

action as going over to anything else. The noun or pro- 
noun complement after these verbs is in the same case as 
the subject, the nominative, and is therefore called the 
Predicate Nominative. Adjectives so used are said to be 
in the predicate construction, or are called simply Predicate 
Adjectives. The verb, of course, is always intransitive. 

86. Some transitive verbs, also, take besides the object 
a complementary noun or adjective, which, with the verb, 
gives a different meaning from that of the simple verb. 
Thus in " He made the stick straight,'' we do not mean 
that he made the stick, but that he straightened it. Stick, 
then, is the object, not of made, but of the whole verb- 
notion expressed by made and the complementary adjec- 
tive straight. Similarly in " Your generosity makes all 
men your friends," men is the object, not of makes, but of 
makes your friends. The complementary word in this con- 
struction always refers to the object; whence it is called 
the Objective Complement, and, if a noun or pronoun, is 
always in the objective case. 

Some verbs that are otherwise intransitive may take an 
object when their meaning is changed by an objective com- 
plement word or phrase. The predicate so formed is 
sometimes called the "factitive predicate " : — 

A female atheist talks you dead. 

He walked himself footsore. 

I have run myself out of breath. 

Sometimes prepositional phrases that can hardly be 
classed as objective complement serve nevertheless to 
make intransitive verbs transitive ; for example : — 

He talked me to death. 
They laughed him to scorn. 



Verbs 73 

87. Transitive verbs have two forms of expression. 
We may say, " John broke the glass " or " The glass 
was broken by John." The meaning is the same ; the 
difference is only in the way it is said. This difference 
in the form of expression is called Voice. In the first 
sentence the verb is in the Active Voice ; in the second, 
the verb is in the Passive Voice. 

The Active Voice represents the subject as acting : 
Henry struck James. 

The Passive Voice represents the subject as acted upon : 
James was struck by Henry. 

In changing the form of expression from the active to 
the passive voice, it will be seen that the object of the verb 
in the active voice becomes the subject of the verb in the 
passive. 

88. As intransitive verbs have no object, they cannot be 
used in the passive voice. Yet the verbs made transitive 
by an objective complement admit the passive construc- 
tion, except when the object is reflexive : — 

He was talked to death. 
He was laughed to scorn. 

Further, the object of a preposition after intransitive 
verbs, as in — 

They laughed at him, 

may be made the subject of the verb in the passive con- 
struction, the preposition being retained as an adverb, 
thus : — 

He was laughed at. 

It is the direct object of the action that is made the subject of the 
passive ; but English usage goes so far as to allow the indirect object 
also to become the subject of the passive construction : — 



74 English Grammar 

a. They gave him a dinner. 

b. A dinner was given him. 

c. He was given a dinner. 

In the last example dinner, the direct object of the action, is retained 
after the passive, and may be called therefore retained object. 

EXERCISE 57 

Classify the verbs according to meaning : — 

i. Robert shot three pigeons yesterday. 2. How soon will the moon 
rise ? 3. He called, but no one answered. 4. Alice has received a 
letter from her cousin. 5. The hunter called his dog and walked away. 
6. The sun is shining brightly. 7. Ruth found two eggs in the barn. 
8. Her brother has painted his top. 9. Moles live in the ground. 
10. They are sometimes caught in traps. 11. The farmer sows wheat 
in the spring. 12. This pear tree was planted by my grandfather. 
13. I have fought the good fight. 14. When did you see Henry 
last ? 15. The postmaster is my uncle. 16. Have you been to the 
fair ? 17. The fair will be held in our town next year. 18. She looked 
scornfully at him. 19. Listen to me. 20. Jane wrote a long letter. 
21. Leaves fall when cold weather comes. 22. The crocus blooms early 
in the spring. 23. The cook burnt the bread. 24. Was the driver 
much hurt ? 25. The town was almost destroyed by fire. 26. The 
roads are muddy. 27. The Spanish were defeated in the battle of 
Manila. 28. The days are growing shorter. 29. He turned every- 
thing upside down. 30. The thief turned and fled. 31. He was 
refused admittance. 32. She was denied a hearing. 33. He ate him- 
self sick. 34. Come and trip it as you go. 35. He was then a captain, 
but soon after became a colonel. 36. The rose smells sweet. 37. She 
seemed indifferent. 38. The cider tastes bitter. 

89. To verbs belong Mood, Tense, Number, and Person. 

MOOD 

90. We have seen that a verb says something of a sub- 
ject. The manner in which it says this is called the Mood. 

The Finite Verb (that is, the verb which has a subject) 



Mood 75 

has three moods : the Indicative, the Subjunctive, and the 
Imperative. 

The Infinitive, which has no subject, is also generally, though improp- 
erly, called a Mood. 

91. The Indicative Mood says something of its subject in 
a positive manner, as if it were a fact, or asks a question 

directly : — 

Tom broke his arm. 

The cow jumped over the moon. 

Is your father at home ? 

92. The Subjunctive Mood says something of the subject 
in a less positive manner, as assumed or merely thought of, 
usually in the expression of a wish or an unreal condition : — 

God bless our native land ! 

If I were you I would not do that. 

Thy kingdom come ! 

93. The Imperative Mood is the mood of command or 
entreaty. Its subject is always in the second person, but 
is not expressed except for emphasis or contrast : — 

Call me early in the morning. 

Send me three copies of yesterday's Herald. 

You come here, you go there. 

Go thou and do likewise. 

EXERCISE 58 

Tell the mood of each verb : — 

i. All that glitters is not gold. 2. Come when you are called. 
3. Three black crows sat on a tree. 4. Now good digestion wait on 
appetite, and health on both ! 5. Ruin seize thee, ruthless king. 
6. Were I Brutus, and Brutus Antony, there were an Antony would 
ruffle up your spirits. 7. God send me a better prince ! 8. Let him 
that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 9. Ring out, ye bells, 



y6 English Grammar 

across the snow ! 10. Eternal blessings crown my earliest friend ! 

1 1 . This generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled. 

12. God grant that she be safe ! 



TENSE 

94. Tense, in grammar, means time. But tense implies 
two things : — 

{a) The time of the action. 

(J?) The stage of the action (complete or incomplete). 

As there are only three divisions of time, — past, present, 
and future, — if tense implied time only there would be but 
three tenses, since every action must be referred to the 
present, or to the past, or to the future. But it is important 
also to represent the action as either continued or complete 
in the present, or the past, or the future ; hence, we find 
needful two tenses for each division of time, making six 
tenses : Present and Present Perfect, Past and Past 
Perfect, Future and Future Perfect. 

The Present Tense represents an action as now going 

on: — 

I am writing. 
Do you see him ? 
He reads well. 

The Present Perfect Tense represents an action as now 
finished : — 

I have written my exercise. 

John has been reading aloud to his sister. 

The Past Tense represents an action that took place in 
the past : — 

I wrote to my father yesterday. 

Did you see the procession ? 

No, I was studying when it went by. 



Tense 77 

The Past Perfect Tense represents an action as completed 
with reference to some other past action : — 

I had already written when your letter came. 

I had not seen him before for several years. 

He had been waiting there an hour when you saw him. 

The Future Tense represents an action as taking place 
in the future : — 

I shall reach home to-morrow night. 

He will co??ie to-morrow. 

You will be studying Latin by this time next year. 

The Future Perfect Tense represents an action to be 
completed at the time of some other action in the future : — 

I shall have finished by the time you return. 

Mother will have been travelling two days when she reaches St. Louis. 

95. It will be seen that although we have but six tenses, 
there are more than six tense-forms. Thus in the present 
tense, besides the simple form / write, which may be called 
the present indefinite, there is the form made up of the 
auxiliary be and the present participle, / am writing, which 
is called the present continuous, and that made up of the 
auxiliary do and the infinitive, / do write, used in three 
ways: for emphasis ("I do write"), in asking questions 
("Does he write?"), and with the adverb not ("He does 
not write"). 

The past tense has three forms corresponding to those of 
the present, with the same distinctions of meaning. 

The future tense and all three of the perfect tenses, have 
two forms. The future has an indefinite (I shall write), 
and a continuous (I shall be writing). The perfect tenses 
have the complete forms (I have written, I had written, I 
shall have written), and the continuous forms (I have been 
writing, I had been writing, I shall have been writing). The 
forms with do are found only in the present and past tenses. 



78 



English Grammar 



96. In the conjugation of the verb (106) only the simplest 
(indefinite or complete) form of each tense will be given ; 
but the other forms may readily be constructed from the 
following table : — 

f I write (indefinite) 
Present «; I am writing (continuous) 

[i do write (emphatic) 

[ I have written (complete) 

L I have been writing (continuous) 

f I wrote (indefinite) 

-{ I was writing (continuous) 

[ I did write (emphatic) 



Tense 



Present 



Past 



Present Perfect 



Past 



Past Perfect 



f I had written (complete) 



Future 



Future 



L I had been writing (continuous) 

I shall write (indefinite) 

I shall be writing (continuous) 

f I shall have written (complete) 
Future Perfect ■{ I shall have been writing (con- 
[ tinuous) 

EXERCISE 59 
Tell the tense of each verb : — 

i. The frost has killed the flowers. 2. The leaves will soon fall. 
3. Last year they fell a month earlier than this. 4. Does the fire burn 
well ? 5. It burned well this morning, but it is not burning well now. 
6. They will have the chimney cleaned to-morrow. 7. He has been 
studying all the afternoon. 8. Has he learned his lesson ? 9. He did 
not know his lesson this morning, because he had not studied it. 
10. He was playing ball when I saw him last. 11. I know the house 
you mean. 12. The train had just left when we reached the station. 
13. I shall tell him so when I see him. 14. You will not know him, 
he has changed so much. 15. If you do not write at once, he will have 
started before your letter reaches him. 16. This time to-morrow I 
shall have been away from home three days. 17. Have you seen my 
top ? 18. Harry will tell you where it is. 19. I am not going to tell 
you. 20. He had been told that often enough. 



The Infinitive 79 



PERSON AND NUMBER 

97. Verbs are said to be in the Singular or in the Plural 
Number according as the subject is singular or plural, and 
in the First, Second, or Third Person, according as the sub- 
ject is in the first, second, or third person. 

Thus know in " I know him well " is in the first person and in the 
singular number, because its subject / is the singular of the pronoun 
of the first person ; comes in " Night comes swiftly on " is in the third 
person and in the singular number, because its subject night is in that 
person and number. 

The verb in English has only a few forms left which indicate num- 
ber and person ; the rule, therefore, that a verb must agree with its sub- 
ject in person and number has only a limited application. With the 
exception of the verb be modern English has, outside the language of 
prayer and poetry (where we find such expressions as " Thou lovest," 
" He cometh not"), only one inflection that marks person and number, 
namely, the ending s of the third person singular of the present tense : 
He sees. He knowj\ He understands. 

The only parts of the verb not yet considered are the 
Infinitive and the Participle. 

THE INFINITIVE 

98. The Infinitive is a Verbal Noun, that is, it is a word 
expressing an action or condition indicated by the verb, but 
not predicating it of any subject. Having no subject, it is 
not limited in person and number as the Finite Verb is, 
and for that reason is called the Infinitive (not limited). 
It has, however, the other characteristics of a verb ; if 
transitive, it takes an object, and it is modified by adverbs, 
not by adjectives : — 

To die is not the worst that can befall us. 
She asked him to write plainly. 



So English Grammar 

99. The Infinitive commonly has the word to before it ; but 
this is not essential, for there are some verbs which take a 
dependent infinitive without to. In the following sentences 
the words in italics are infinitives : — 

I heard him say it. 

Let him come in. 

I saw the flagstaff fall. 

I felt the rain strike on my face. 

He could not go. 

100. The Infinitive is without mood, number, or person, 
but has two tenses, present and perfect, and in the case of 
transitive verbs, is found in both active and passive voice. 

There is another kind of verbal noun, ending, like the present parti- 
ciple, in ing, but easily distinguished from the participle by its use, 
which is always that of a noun : Flying kites is good sport. Playing is 
easier than working. Spinning tops is that boy's delight. 

PARTICIPLES 

101. The Participle is a Verbal Adjective. It differs from 
other adjectives in that it may take an object or a comple- 
ment. It is called a participle because it participates in 
the nature both of verbs and of adjectives, having the 
meaning of the former and the use of the latter. 

102. There are two Participles in English : the Present 
and the Perfect. So the verb write has the Present 
Participle writing, and the Perfect Participle written. 

EXERCISE 60 

Point out the infinitives and the participles : — 

i . Seeing a dark cloud coming up, I turned back. 2. Such a strik- 
ing resemblance is not often seen. 3. He caught the dog killing a 
chicken. 4. We could not face the blinding snow. 5. Are you ready 
to go ? 6. Bid him come hither at once. 7. The keeper made the 
bear dance. 8. To hesitate now is to confess ourselves defeated. 



Conjugation 81 

9. To err is human, to forgive divine. 10. His mother refused to let 
him go. 11. I love to watch the clouds go sailing by. 12. The 
melted snow made the walk muddy. 13. Viewed in that light, his con- 
duct is without excuse. 14. They saw once more his well-remembered 
face. 15. Lost hours can never be recovered. 16. I asked him to let 
me mend his torn kite. 17. A rolling stone gathers no moss. 18. To 
know how to read well is a desirable accomplishment. 19. To have 
known such a man is honor enough for you and me. 20. Alice tried to 
learn the poem by heart. 21. Just then a soldier went galloping by. 
22. Having seen him once, I can never forget him. 23. He lived re- 
tired from the busy world, devoted to study and meditation. 24. The 
day dawning fair, we arose early. 



CONJUGATION 

103. To conjugate a verb is to give all its forms and 
parts — Voice, Mood, Tense, Number, and Person — 
systematically arranged. 

104. The conjugation of the verb be is as follows : — 

Indicative Mood 
Present Tense Present Perfect Tense 

Singular Plural Singular Plural 



I. 


I am 


We are 


I have been 


We have been 


2. 


Thou art 


You are 


Thou hast been 


You have been 


3- 


He is 


They are 


He has been 


They have been 



Past Tense Past Perfect Tense 

1 . I was We were I had been We had been 

2. Thou wast (wert) You were Thou hadst been You had been 

3. He was They were He had been They had been 



Singular 


Future Tense 


Plural 


1 . I shall be 

2. Thou wilt be 

3. He will be 




We shall be 
You will be 
They will be 



82 



English Grammar 



Future Perfect Tense 



i . I shall have been 

2. Thou wilt have been 

3. He will have been 



We shall have been 
You will have been 
They will have been 



Subjunctive Mood 



Present Tense 


Past Tense 


Singular 


Plural 


Singular 


Plural 


1. I be 


We be 


I were 


We were 


2. Thou be 


You be 


Thou wert 


You were 


3. He be 


They be 


He were 


They were 



Imperative Mood 

Singular Plural 

2. Be (thou) Be (you, ye) 



Participles 


Infinitives 


Present. Being 


Be, to be 


Perfect. Been 


Have been, to have been 



105. The conjugation of the verb have is as follows : — 

Indicative Mood 
Present Tense Present Perfect Tense 





Singular 


Plural 


Singular 


Plural 


I. 

2. 

3- 


I have 
Thou hast 
He has 


We have 
You have 
They have 


I have had 
Thou hast had 
He has had 


We have had 
You have had 
They have had 




Past Tense 


Past Perfect Tense 


1. 

2. 
3- 


I had 

Thou hadst 
He had 


We had 
You had 
They had 


I had had 
Thou hadst had 
He had had 


We had had 
You had had 
They had had 



Conjugation 



83 



Future Tense 



Singular 

1. I shall have 

2. Thou wilt have 

3. He will have 



Plural 
We shall have 
You will have 
They will have 



Future Perfect Tense 

1. I shall have had We shall have had 

2. Thou wilt have had 

3. He will have had 



You will have had 
They will have had 



Subjunctive Mood 
Present Tense Past Tense 

Singular Plural Singular Plural 

1. I have We have I had We had 

2. Thou have You have Thou hadst l You had 

3. He have They have He had They had 

Imperative Mood 

Singular Plural 

2. Have (thou) Have (you, ye) 



Participles 
Present. Having 

Perfect. Had 



Infinitives 
Have, to have 
Have had, to have had 



1 This is the indicative, used for the subjunctive in Modern English. 



8 4 



English Grammar 



106. Conjugation of the verb love : 



Active Voice 



i. I love 

2. Thou lovest 

3. He loves 

1. We love 

2. You love 

3. They love 



Indicative Mood 
Present Tense 



Passive Voice 



Singular 



Plural 



I am loved 
Thou art loved 
He is loved 

We are loved 
You are loved 
They are loved 



Present Perfect Tense 
Singular 



1. I have loved 

2. Thou hast loved 

3. He has loved 

1 . We have loved 

2. You have loved 

3. They have loved 



1. I loved 

2. Thou lovedst 

3. He loved 

1. We loved 

2. You loved 

3. They loved 



Plural 



I have been loved 
Thou hast been loved 
He has been loved 

We have been loved 
You have been loved 
They have been loved 



Past Tense 

Singular 



Plural 



I was loved 
Thou wast loved 
He was loved 

We were loved 
You were loved 
They were loved 



i.»I had loved 

2. Thou hadst loved 

3. He had loved 



Past Perfect Tense 

Singular 



I had been loved 
Thou hadst been loved 
He had been loved 



Conjugation 85 



Active Voice Passive Voice 

Plural 

1. We had loved We had been loved 

2. You had loved You had been loved 

3. They had loved They had been loved 

Future Tense 
Singular 

1. I shall love I shall be loved 

2. Thou wilt love Thou wilt be loved 

3. He will love He will be loved 

Plural 

1 . We shall love We shall be loved 

2. You will love You will be loved 

3. They will love They will be loved 

Future Perfect Tense 
Singular 

1 . I shall have loved I shall have been loved 

2. Thou wilt have loved Thou wilt have been loved 

3. He will have loved He will have been loved 

Plural 

1. We shall have loved We shall have been loved 

2. You will have loved You will have been loved 

3. They will have loved They will have been loved 

Subjunctive Mood 

Present Tense 

Singular 

1. I love I be loved 

2. Thou love Thou be loved 

3. He love He be loved 



86 



English Grammar 



Active Voice 

i . We Jove 

2. You love 

3. They love 



1. I loved 

2. Thou loved 

3. He loved 



1. We loved 

2. You loved 

3. They loved 



Plural 



Passive Voice 

We be loved 
You be loved 
They be loved 



Past Tense 
Singular 



Plural 



I were loved 
Thou wert loved 
He were loved 



We were loved 
You were loved 
They were loved 



Imperative Mood 

Singular 
2. Love (thou) Be (thou) loved 

Plural 
2. Love (you, ye) Be (you, ye) loved 



Loving 
Having loved 

Love, to love 



Participles 
Present 

Being loved 

Perfect 

Loved, having been loved 

Infinitives 

Present 

Be loved, to be loved 



Perfect 
Have loved, to have loved Have been loved, to have been 

loved 



Strong and Weak Verbs 



87 



The older form of the third person singular present indicative, end- 
ing in th, is found in poetry and in the Bible : He cometh. The second 
person singular (lovest) is found in older literature, in poetry, and in 
prayer. Modern English uses instead the plural, yoti love. 

In earlier English the present perfect and past perfect tenses of in- 
transitive verbs were regularly formed by means of the auxiliary be 
instead of have: He is come. They are gone. He was come. They 
were gone. These forms are %till found in poetry and sometimes in 
prose. 

STRONG AND WEAK VERBS 

107. Verbs are classified, according to the way in which 
they form the past tense and perfect participle, into two 
conjugations : the Strong Conjugation and the Weak 
Conjugation. 

I. Verbs of the Strong Conjugation form the past tense 
by changing the vowel without adding anything ; and the 
perfect participle, sometimes by change of vowel, some- 
times by adding n or en, and sometimes by both means : 
sing, sang, sung; know, knew, knozvn ; rise, rose, risen; 
break, broke, broken. 



LIST OF STRONG VERBS 

Many of these verbs have also forms of the weak conjugation, either 
taking the place of strong forms, or existing side by side with them. In 
the list, weak forms are enclosed in parentheses : — 



Present Tense 


Past Tense 


Perfect Participle 


abide 


abode 


abode 


arise 


arose 


arisen 


awake 


awoke (awaked) 


awoke (awaked) 


be 


[was] 


been 


bear 


bore 


borne, born 


beat 


beat 


beaten 


begin 


began 


begun 


behold 


beheld 


beheld 


bid 


bade, bid 


bid, bidden 



88 



8 


English Grammar 


Present Tense 


Past Tense 


Perfect Participle 


bind 


bound 


bound 


bite 


bit 


bit, bitten 


blow 


blew 


blown 


break 


broke 


broken 


choose 


chose 


chosen 


cleave (to split) 


clove (cleft) 


cloven (cleft) 


cling 


clung 


clung 


come 


came 


come 


crow 


crew (crowed) 


(crowed) 


dig 


dug 


dug 


do 


did 


done 


draw 


drew 


drawn 


drink 


drank 


drunk 


drive 


drove 


driven 


eat 


ate 


eaten 


fall 


fell 


fallen 


fight 


fought 


fought 


find 


found 


found 


fling 


flung 


flung 


fly 


flew 


flown 


forbear 


forbore 


forborne 


forget 


forgot 


forgotten 


forsake 


forsook 


forsaken 


freeze 


froze 


frozen 


get 


got 


got, gotten 


give 


gave 


given 


g° 


[went] 


gone 


grind 


ground 


ground 


grow 


grew 


grown 


hang 


hung (hanged) 


hung (hanged) 


heave 


hove (heaved) 


hove (heaved) 


hold 


held 


held 


know 


knew 


known 


lie 


lay 


lain 


ride 


rode 


ridden 


ring 


rang 


rung 


rise 


rose 


risen 


run 


ran 


run 



List of Strong Verbs 



8 9 



Present Tense 


Past Tense 


Perfect Participle 


see 


saw 


seen 


shake 


shook 


shaken 


shear 


(sheared) 


shorn (sheared) 


shine 


shone 


shone 


shoot 


shot 


shot 


shrink 


shrank 


shrunk 


shrive 


shrove (shrived) 


shriven (shrived) 


sing 


sang 


sung 


sink 


sank 


sunk 


sit 


sat 


sat 


slay 


slew 


slain 


sling 


slung 


slung 


slink 


slunk 


slunk 


smite 


smote 


smitten 


speak 


spoke 


spoken 


spin 


spun 


spun 


spring 


sprang 


sprung 


stand 


stood 


stood 


stave 


stove (staved) 


stove (staved) 


steal 


stole 


stolen 


stick 


stuck 


stuck 


sting 


stung 


stung 


stink 


stunk 


stunk 


stride 


strode 


stridden 


strike 


struck 


struck, stricken 


string 


strung 


strung 


strive 


strove 


striven 


swear 


swore 


sworn 


swim 


swam 


swum 


swing 


swung 


swung 


take 


took 


taken 


tear 


tore 


torn 


thrive 


throve (thrived) 


thriven (thrived) 


throw 


threw 


thrown 


tread 


trod 


trodden, trod 


wake 


woke (waked) 


(waked) 


wear 


wore 


worn 


weave 


wove 


woven 



90 English Grammar 



Present Tense 


Past Tense 


Perfect Participle 


win 


won 


won 


wind 


wound 


wound 


wring 


wrung 


wrung 


write 


wrote 


written 



Notes. — Climb has also an older past tense, clomb, often found in 
poetry. 

Borne is the perfect participle of bear, except in the sense " give 
birth to," in which case the participle is bom. 

Eat has, besides the past tense ate, a form eat (et), often found in 
literature and in spoken English. 

Instead of the forms shrank, sang, sank, sprang, swam, in the past 
tense, forms with u {shrunk, etc.) are sometimes met with. 

Hanged, in the past tense and perfect participle, is used only in the 
sense "put to death on the gallows." 

The following forms of the perfect participle are now used only as 
adjectives : bounden, drunken, sunken. 

Went, past tense of go, is borrowed from the weak verb wend. Was, 
used as past tense of be, is from an obsolete verb wesan. 

II. Weak Conjugation. — Weak Verbs form the past 
tense and perfect participle by adding ed, d, or t to the 
form of the present infinitive, generally without change of 
vowel : call, called, called ; love, loved, loved ; bitrn, burnt, 
burnt. 

Verbs of this conjugation are mostly regular, that is, 
when they end in silent e they add d (love-d), otherwise ed 
(call-ed). The irregular weak verbs may be divided into 
two classes : — 

(a) Those that add d or /, usually with change of vowel. 

(6) Those that, ending in d or t in the present tense, take 
no additional d or t, though they sometimes change d to t, 
and often shorten the vowel. 

In the following list, the verbs marked * are also regular. The 
regular forms are often to be preferred to the irregular ; thus leaned is 
preferable to leant. 



List of Irregular Weak Verbs 



9* 



LIST OF IRREGULAR WEAK VERBS 



Class (a) 



r esent Tense 


Past Tense 


Perfect Participle 


* bereave 


bereft 


bereft 


beseech 


besought 


besought 


bring 


brought 


brought 


* burn 


burnt 


burnt 


buy 


bought 


bought 


catch 


caught 


caught 


creep 


crept 


crept 


* dare 


durst 


dared 


deal 


dealt 


dealt 


* dream 


dreamt 


dreamt 


dwell 


dwelt 


dwelt 


feel 


felt 


felt 


flee 


fled 


fled 


have 


had 


had 


hear 


heard 


heard 


hide 


hid 


hid (hidden) 


keep 


kept 


kept 


kneel 


knelt 


knelt 


lay 


laid 


laid 


* lean 


leant 


leant 


* leap 


leapt 


leapt 


leave 


left 


left 


lose 


lost 


lost 


make 


made 


made 


mean 


meant 


meant 


pay 


paid 


paid 


say 


said 


said 


seek 


sought 


sought 


sell 


sold 


sold 


shoe 


shod 


shod 


sleep 


slept 


slept 


* spell 


spelt 


spelt 


* spill 


spilt 


spilt 


sweep 


swept 


swept 



9 2 



English Grammar 



Present Tense 


Past Tense 


Perfect Participle 


teach 


taught 


taught 


tell 


told 


told 


think 


thought 


thought 


weep 


wept 


wept 


* work 


wrought 
Class (J?) 


wrought 


bend 


bent 


bent 


*bet 


bet 


bet 


bleed 


bled 


bled 


* blend 


blent 


blent 


breed 


bred 


bred 


* build 


built 


built 


burst 


burst 


burst 


cast 


cast 


cast 


chide 


chid 


chid (chidden) 


cost 


cost 


cost 


cut 


cut 


cut 


feed 


fed 


fed 


* gird 


girt 


girt 


hide 


hid 


hid (hidden) 


hit 


hit 


hit 


hurt 


hurt 


hurt 


*knit 


knit 


knit 


lead 


led 


led 


lend 


lent 


lent 


let 


let 


let 


* light 


lit 


lit 


meet 


met 


met 


put 


put 


put 


* quit 


quit 


quit 


read 


read 


read 


rend 


rent 


rent 


rid 


rid 


rid 


send 


sent 


sent 


set 


set 


set 


shed 


shed 


shed 



Defective Verbs 



93 



Present Tense 


Past Tense 


Perfect Participle 


shred 


shred 


shred 


shut 


shut 


shut 


slide 


slid 


slid 


slit 


slit 


slit 


speed 


sped 


sped 


spend 


spent 


spent 


spit 


spit 


spit 


split 


split 


split 


spread 


spread 


spread 


sweat 


sweat 


sweat 


thrust 


thrust 


thrust 


* wed 


wed 


wed 


* wet 


wet 


wet 



Notes. — The following weak verbs have, in more or less common 
use, perfect participles of the strong conjugation: carve (carven), chide 
(chidden), grave (graven), hew (hewn), hide (hidden), lade (laden), 
melt (molten), mow (mown), shave (shaven), shape (shapen), show 
(shown), slide (slidden), sow (sown), strew (strewn), swell (swollen). 

It is not thought advisable to enumerate here all the forms of Eng- 
lish verbs to be found in literature. For forms not given in these lists 
the student should consult the dictionary. 

There is a growing tendency, under the influence of spelling reform, 
to write / instead of .ed in the past tense and perfect participle of weak 
verbs, wherever the word ends in a / sound instead of a d sound : dropt, 
stopt, mixt, dipt, drest, prest, crost, fixt, etc., just as in wept, blest, 
past, etc. This practice should be encouraged. 

DEFECTIVE VERBS 

108. Defective Verbs are those that are deficient in some 
of their parts. They have no infinitive, participle, or 
imperative mood, and form no compound tenses. They 
are : can, may, must, ought, shall, will. 

Can, may, shall, and will have the past tenses could, 
might, should, and would. 

Must and ought, though originally past tenses, are now used only as 
present tenses, except sometimes in dependent clauses. 



94 English Grammar 

All these verbs are used either as indicative or as sub- 
junctive, without change of form. They are used in both 
numbers and in all three persons without change, except 
in the second person singular : thou canst, couldst, mayst, 
mightest, oughtest, shalt, shouldst, wilt, wouldst. Must is 
invariable. 

The third person singular of the present tense of all these verbs is 
the same as the first person. We say he shall, he will, he may, he can, 
instead of he shalls, he wills, he mays, he cans. The reason is that the 
present tense of all these verbs except will was formerly a past tense, 
and in the past tense the third person is always the same as the first 
person. In the same way, dare and need, not otherwise defective, are 
sometimes used in the third person singular without s: He dare not do 
it. He need not go. 

There are a few other defective verbs occasionally found in literature. 
Of these the more important are : to wit (know), present wot, past 
wist ; thinks (seems), as in methinks (it seems to me), methought (it 
seemed to me) ; quoth (said) used only in the past tense ; hight (was 
called). 

IMPERSONAL VERBS 

109. Verbs used only in the third person, without refer- 
ence to any agent, are called Impersonal Verbs. For 
grammatical subject these verbs have the pronoun it, 
used indefinitely. They relate for the most part to phe- 
nomena of nature, as : It rains. It snows. It hails. It 
dawns. 

AUXILIARY VERBS 

110. Auxiliary Verbs are so called because they help to 
make up certain forms of mood, tense, and voice. The 
auxiliary verbs are be, do, have, shall, will, may. 

Be. — (a) Be is used with the perfect participle to form 
the passive voice of all transitive verbs : — 

He is loved. They will have been loved. 



Auxiliaries and Verb-Phrases 95 

(b) Be is used with the present participle to make up the 
continuous or progressive tense-forms : — 

I am writing. He was reading. 

(c) Be is used with the perfect participle to form the old 
perfect tenses of some intransitive verbs : — 

He is gone. They were come. 

Do. — Do is used with the infinitive to make up the 
emphatic, negative, and interrogative forms of the present 
and past tenses : — 

You do know that. He does not know. Did you see him ? 

Have. — Have is used with the perfect participle to make 
up the perfect tenses : — 

I have written. You had written. You will have written. 

Shall. — Shall is used with the infinitive to make up the 
first person of the future tenses : — 
I shall go. We shall have seen. 

Will. — Will is used with the infinitive to make up the 
forms of the future tenses in the second and third persons: — 
He will know. They will have seen. 

For may, should, and would, as auxiliaries of the subjunctive mood, 
see 172-174. 

The verbs here considered are, however, not always auxiliaries. 
They may be used as principal verbs. Thus have in " They have their 
reward " is a principal verb, just as receive is in " They receive their 
reward " ; but in " They have received their reward," have is merely the 
auxiliary of the perfect tense, and the verb is have received, perfect 
tense of receive. When we say "The medicine did him good," did is 
the principal verb ; when we say " I did not know him," did is an aux- 
iliary used to make the past tense of know. Whether these verbs are 
to be construed as auxiliaries or as principal verbs in any instance 
depends on whether they are or are not used to make up verb-phrases 
of voice, tense, or mood. 



96 English Grammar 



REVIEW 

Give the mood, tense, voice, number, and person of the 
verbs, and classify them (Strong or Weak, Transitive or 
Intransitive). Point out also the infinitives and parti- 
ciples : — 

1. But O the heavy change, now thou art gone, 
Now thou art gone and never must return ! 

2. His prayer he saith, this patient, holy man ; 
Then takes his lamp and riseth from his knees. 

3. How shall I then your helpless fame defend ? 
'Twill then be infamy to seem your friend. 

4. Methought I heard a voice cry, Sleep no more ! 

5. The naked hulk alongside came, 

And the twain were casting dice ; 
" The game is done ! I've won, I've won ! " 
Quoth she, and whistles thrice. 

6. The silly buckets on the deck, 

That had so long remained, 
I dreamt that they were filled with dew ; 
And when I woke, it rained. 

7. But it will not be long 

Ere this be thrown aside, 
And with new joy and pride 
The little actor cons another part. 

8. Eternal blessings crown my earliest friend, 
And round his dwelling guardian saints attend ; 
Blest be that spot where cheerful guests retire 
To pause from toil, and trim their evening fire. 

9. Fairest of stars, last in the train of night, 
If better thou belong not to the dawn, 

Sure pledge of day, that crown'st the smiling morn 
With thy bright circlet — praise him in thy sphere 
While day arises, that sweet hour of prime. 



Verbs 97 

10. In full-blown dignity see Wolsey stand, 
Law in his voice, and fortune in his hand : 

To him the church, the realm, their powers consign, 
Through him the rays of regal bounty shine, 
Turned by his nod the stream of honor flows, 
His smile alone security bestows. 

1 1 . For Lycidas, your sorrow, is not dead, 
Sunk though he be beneath the watery floor ; 
So sinks the day-star in the ocean bed, 
And yet anon repairs his drooping head, 

And tricks his beams, and with new-spangled ore 
Flames in the forehead of the morning sky. 

12. It is gone, that sensibility of principle, that chastity of honor 
which felt a stain like a wound! 

13. When I shall have brought them into the land, then will they 
turn to other gods. 

14. That man, I think, has had a liberal education, who has been so 
trained in youth that his body is the ready servant of his will, and does 
with ease and pleasure all the work that, as a mechanism, it is capable 
of. 

15. Long before the sound of the report can roll up the river the whole 
pent-up life and energy which has been held in leash, as it were, for the 
last six minutes, is loosed, and breaks away with a bound and a dash 
which he who has felt it will remember for his life, but the like of which 
will he ever feel again ? 



CHAPTER XV 

ADVERBS 

111. We have seen that the use of the Adverb is to 
modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs, as : She walks 
gracefully. The weather is very cold. He writes fairly 
well. 

Adverbs may be divided into the following classes : — 

(i) Adverbs of Manner : faithfully, sternly, so, well, etc. 

(2) Adverbs of Time : soon, presently, then, afterwards, 
always, never, to-morrow, etc. 

(3) Adverbs of Place : here, there, where, back, up, down, 
north, hither, etc. 

(4) Adverbs of Degree : much, little, as, so, very, almost, 
quite, enough, etc. 

(5) Adverbs of Cause or Reason: why, wherefore, there- 
fore, hence, accordingly, etc. 

(6) Adverbs of Concession : nevertheless, however, in- 
deed, etc. 

Yes and no, yea and nay, express simple affirmation or negation, and 
make complete statements in themselves. Not, however, and no in such 
expressions as " no better," etc., are true adverbs, and may be called 
Negative Adverbs. 

112. Most adverbs are formed from adjectives by the 
addition of -ly : grand, grandly ; true, truly ; wise, wisely ; 
principal, principally. 

98 



Adverbs 



99 



Not all words, however, that end in -ly are adverbs ; many adjectives 
are formed in this way : a lovely rose, a homely word, a friendly eye, a 
sickly look, a goodly number, a £#^/y life. Whether a word ending in 
-/y is an adverb or an adjective is to be determined by its use in the 
sentence. In " He made daily visits to his friend, 11 daily is an adjective ; 
in " He visited his friend daily, 11 daily is an adverb. 

In old English, adverbs were distinguished from adjectives by the 
addition of e. In course of time the e was dropped, leaving the adverb 
identical in form with the adjective. This simple form of the adverb is 
still in use, and is quite common in poetry : Don^t talk so loud. Walk 
fast. "Fair laughs the morn, and soft the zephyr blows. 11 

113. Some adverbs are derived from the bases of the 
pronouns he, that, who. Their formation and meaning are 
presented in the following 

Table of Pronominal Adverbs 



Where 



he 
that 

who 



here 

there 
where 



From which 



hence 
thence 
whence 



To which 



hither 

thither 

whither 



Time 


Manner 


Reason 


then 
when 


thus 
how 


why 



Degree 



the 



The adverbs where, when, whither, whence, how, why, are, like the 
pronoun who, both relative and interrogative. As relative adverbs, 
they have the same power of joining dependent sentences or clauses 
that the pronoun has : I go where duty calls me. This is the season 
when the woods are most beautiful. These are called Conjunctive 
Adverbs (see 125)- 

The pronominal adverbs, and some others, such as consequently, 
accordingly, often serve as reference words connecting one sentence 
with another: I w r aited for him until six o 1 clock. Then, as it was get- 
ting dark, I set out for home. 

114. A few adverbs are not derived from other words. 
The more important of these are : now, so, often, quite, very, 
well, soon. 



ioo English Grammar 



EXERCISE 61 

Point out the adverbs, tell to which class each belongs, 
and what it modifies : — 

i. Christmas will soon be here. 2. She listened very patiently to 
his rather tedious explanation. 3. When will your father return? 
4. Too many cooks spoil the broth. 5. His brother will certainly come 
to-morrow. 6. I have often watched him walking down the street. 
7. I hope you will be quite strong when I come again. 8. Your letter 
is too carelessly written. 9. You are not careful enough. 10. Slowly 
and sadly we laid him to rest. 11. Sometimes he answers harshly. 
12. Always do what is right and never despair. 13. Slow rises worth 
by poverty depressed. 14. He is far brighter than his brother, who is 
quite dull. 15. Walk fast, and don't talk so loud. 16. Tom is thor- 
oughly honest. 17. Yonder gleam the lances of the foe. 18. Charles 
is much older than I. 19. The family formerly lived in Chicago. 
20. Why did you stay out so late ? 21. The class in spelling recites 
first, then the geography class. 22. I could hardly hear him. 23. The 
mail is delivered there twice a day. 24. I have seldom heard that old 
song better sung. 25. They are almost all gone now. 

COMPARISON OF ADVERBS 

115. A few adverbs are compared like adjectives : often, 
oftener, of ten est ; soon, sooner, soonest ; fast, faster, fastest ; 
early, earlier, earliest. 

Most adverbs form the Comparative and Superlative by 
the use of more and most, less and least : freely, more freely, 
most freely ; freely, less freely, least freely. 

116. The following adverbs are irregularly compared: — 



Positive 


Comparative 


Superlative 


ill, badly 


worse 


worst 


well 


better 


best 


much 


more 


most 


little 


less 


least 



Adverbs 101 



Positive 


Comparative 


Superlative 


near 


nearer 


nearest, next 


nigh 


nigher 


nighest, next 


far, forth 


farther, further 


farthest, furthest 


late 


later 


last 




rather 

REVIEW 





Point out the adverbs, tell to what class each belongs, 
and what it modifies : — 

i. Oft she rejects, but never once offends. 

2. Ten censure wrong for one who writes amiss. 

3. All day the wind breathes low with mellower tone. 

4. The slower the current the deeper the stream. 

5. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. 

6. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 

7. Wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered 
together. 

8. Slowly and smoothly went the ship, 
Moved onward from beneath. 

9. The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea, 

The ploughman homeward plods his weary way. 

10. Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, 
Where wealth accumulates, and men decay. 

11. Hope springs eternal in the human breast ; 
Man never is, but always to be, blest. 

12. How sleep the brave who sink to rest, 
By all their country's wishes blest ! 

13. I thrice presented him a kingly crown, 
Which he did thrice refuse. 

14. Jura answers, through her misty shroud, 
Back to the joyous Alps, who call to her aloud. 



102 English Grammar 

15. Comrades, leave me here a little, while as yet His early morn : 
Leave me here, and when you want me, sound upon the bugle-horn. 

16. Forward, forward let us range, 
Let the great world spin forever down the ringing grooves of change. 

17. To one who has been long in city pent, 

Tis very sweet to look into the fair 
And open face of heaven, — to breathe a prayer 
Full in the smile of the blue firmament. 

18. Full knee-deep lies the winter's snow, 

And the winter winds are wearily sighing ; 
Toll ye the church bells sad and slow, 
And tread softly and speak low, 

For the old year lies a-dying. 



CHAPTER XVI 

PREPOSITIONS 

117. A Preposition is a word used with a noun or pro- 
noun to show its relation to some other word in the sen- 
tence. The noun or pronoun dependent on the preposition 
is in the objective case, and is therefore called the object of 
the preposition. 

The preposition is so called from the fact that it is usually placed 
pefore its object ; but it sometimes follows the object : All the world 
over. 

It is thoroughly in accord with English idiom to close a sentence 
with a preposition : What are you waiting for? This is the best place 
that I know of Never talk of matters that you know nothing about. 

The preposition always comes last when its object is an omitted 
relative pronoun. In the sentence " This is the book you were looking 
for," the object of the preposition for is the relative pronoun that, 
omitted after book, and for shows the relation between that and looking. 
Other examples are : — 

This is the gentleman I travelled with. 
You need a light to read by. 
This is the place to come to. 

118. The object of a preposition is not always a noun 
or a pronoun. Other parts of speech, and even whole 
phrases and clauses, are used after prepositions : — 

{a) Adverbs : I did not know until then. It is not far from here. 
Come at once. 

(b) Adjectives : I cannot say for certain. Lift up your eyes on 
high. He pleaded in vain. 

103 



104 English Grammar 

(c) Phrases : He wiil not leave till after the election, A voids 
answered from within the veil. 

(d) Clauses : Don't speak of what you have heard. 

119. Some prepositions are simple, others derivative. 
Simple prepositions are : — 

at, after, by, down, ere, for, from, in, of, off, over, till, to, up, with. 

Derivative prepositions are formed 

(a) By compounding adverbs with prepositions : — 

about, above, against, beneath, into, throughout, toward, underneath, 
upon, within, without. 

(b) By compounding nouns or adjectives with prepo- 
sitions : — 

across, amid, amidst, among, amongst, around, athwart, aslant, below 
beside, besides, between, betwixt. 

In these the a- and the be- stand for the prepositions on and by 
respectively. 

(c) From verbs : — 

during, except, past, save, notwithstanding, concerning. 

120. Sometimes two or more words are used together 
with the value of a preposition. In the sentence " He 
stopped in front of the store," in front of shows the 
relation of store to stopped. Some of these groups of 
words are : — 

out of, according to, alongside of, because of, instead of, in respect 
to, in regard to. 

The student is reminded that many of the words here classed as 
prepositions are also used without an object, in which case they are to 
be parsed as adverbs : Come in out of the rain. It is ^me to get up. 
Go on, and I will follow. Take your hat off* 



Prepositions 105 

REVIEW 

Point out the prepositions and their objects : — 

1 . Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. 

2. Dupe of to-morrow even from a child. 

3. And the long carpets rose along the gusty floor. 

4. Brown skeletons of leaves that lag 
My forest-brook along. 

5. Fear no more the frown o' the great ; 
Thou art past the tyrant's stroke. 

6. Truth from his lips prevailed with double sway, 
And fools who came to scoff remained to pray. 

7. Compared with this, how poor Religion's pride, 

In all the pomp of method and of art, 
When men display to congregations wide 
Devotion's every grace, except the heart ! 

8. There at the foot of yonder nodding beech, 

That wreathes its old, fantastic roots so high, 
His listless length at noon-tide would he stretch, 
And pore upon the brook that babbles by. 

9. Under the greenwood tree, 
Who loves to lie with me, 
And turn his merry note 
Unto the sweet bird's throat, 

Come hither, come hither, come hither: 
Here shall he see 
No enemy 

But winter and rough weather. 

JO. God of our fathers, known of old, 

Lord of the far-flung battle line, ! 
Beneath whose awful hand we hold 

Dominion over palm and pine, 
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, 
Lest we forget — lest we forget ! 



CHAPTER XVII 

CONJUNCTIONS 

121. Conjunctions join words or groups of words. They 
may be divided into two principal classes : Coordinate and 
Subordinate. 

122. Coordinate Conjunctions are those that join words 
or groups of words of the same rank. 

The simple coordinate conjunctions are and, but, or. Certain pairs 
of words that have the value of coordinate conjunctions are called 
Correlatives : both . . . and, either . . . or, neither . . . nor, whether 
. . . or, not only . . . but {also), and sometimes or . . . or, nor . . . nor* 

123. Subordinate Conjunctions are those that introduce 
clauses (see 139). They are divided, according to the office 
of the clause introduced, into Conjunctions of : — 

(i) Time : after, as, before, ere, sinee, until, while, etc. 

(2) Cause or Reason : as, because, for, since, zvhereas x 
etc. 

(3) Condition : if, except, unless, provided, so, etc. 

(4) Concession : though, although, albeit, notwithstanding, 
etc. 

(5) Purpose or Result : that, lest, \so~\ that, [in order] 
that, etc. 

(6) Comparison : as, than. 

(7) Conjunctions introducing Noun Clauses : that, zvhether. 

106 



Conjunctions 107 

124. Sometimes two or three words are used together 
with the value of a conjunction. Such phrases are: as 
if, as though, so that, in order that, inasmuch as, etc. 

The clause introduced by a subordinate conjunction is sometimes 
reduced, by the omission of parts readily understood from the context, 
to a single word. In the sentence u Though dead, he yet speaketh," 
though is a subordinate conjunction, introducing the concessive idea, 
he is dead, which is sufficiently rendered here by the one word dead. 

125. Some adverbs are used, like subordinate conjunc- 
tions, to introduce clauses. When so used they are called 
Conjunctive Adverbs, inasmuch as they never entirely lose 
their adverbial force. Such are : — 

when, where, whence, how, why. 

EXERCISE 62 

Point out and classify the conjunctions and the con- 
junctive adverbs : — 

1. I care not whether he goes or stays. 2. Tarry till I come. 3. He 
is welcome wherever he goes. 4. I will give you an answer as soon as 
my brother returns. 5. It is a year since I saw him last. 6. Ye shall 
not eat of it, lest ye die. 7. It is said that men of few words are the 
best men. 8. Freely we serve because we freely love. 9. It matters 
not how he looks, so he can do the work. 10. Except the Lord build 
the house they labor in vain that build it. 1 1 . I know that I can find 
it. 12. He is taller than I am. 13. Though it is past twelve o'clock, 
the train has not yet come. 14. If any one asks for me, say that I shall 
be back before long. 15. Wealth heaped on wealth nor truth nor 
safety buys. 16. She gave him not only something to eat, but also 
some clothing. 17, Do unto others as ye would that they should do 
unto you. 18. Ask him whether he knows the road to Weston. 19. He 
looks as if he had not had a square meal for a week. 20. Open the 
gate wide so that he can drive through. 21. A holiday was given in 
order that the children might see the parade. 22. The old soldier was 
fond of telling how the great battle was won. 23. The road is better 
now than it was when I used to trudge along it to school. 



PART III 



CHAPTER XVIII 

ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES 

126. Whenever we say anything, or ask a question, or 
give an order, or express a wish or a feeling, the words by 
means of which we do so make a sentence. " John has 
learned his lesson," " When will he return ? " " Send me 
three loaves of bread," " Long live the king!" "How 
sweet the moonlight sleeps on yonder bank! " are sentences. 

According as , a sentence makes a statement, asks a 
question, gives a command, or expresses emotion, it is 
called Declarative, Interrogative, Imperative, or Exclama- 
tory : — 

Declarative : John has learned his lesson. 
Interrogative : When will he return ? 
Imperative : Send me three loaves of bread. » 

Exclamatory : How sweet the moonlight sleeps on yonder bank ! 

127. Sentences are also classified according to their 
construction, as Simple, Complex, and Compound. 

SIMPLE SENTENCES 

128. Every sentence is made up of two parts, called 
the Subject and the Predicate. 

In "John has learned his lesson," John is the subject — that of 
which something is said ; and has learned his lesson is the predicate — 

108 



Simple Sentences 109 

that which is said of John. In -When will he return? " he is the sub- 
ject, and when . . . will return the predicate. In u Long live the 
king! ^ the king is the subject, and long live the predicate. In the sen- 
tence, -How sweet the moonlight sleeps on yonder bank !" the moon- 
light is the subject, and how sweet . . . sleeps on yonder bank the 
predicate. In the sentence, "Send me three loaves of bread," — and 
regularly in imperative sentences, — the subject is not expressed, being 
sufficiently understood. It is always the person we are speaking to. 
The predicate is send me three loaves of bread — that which we ask the 
person addressed to do. 

129. Sentences that have but one subject and one predi- 
cate are called Simple Sentences. 

EXERCISE 63 

Point out the subject and the predicate in each sen- 
tence: — 

1. Brutus stabbed Caesar. 2. Alaska is a cold country. 3. Have 
you seen Alice to-day ? 4. Slowly and sadly we laid him down. 
5. Gray hairs are honorable. 6. Into the valley of death rode the six 
hundred. 7. Each horseman drew his battle blade. 8. A merry old 
soul was he. 9. One good turn deserves another. 10. Play that tune 
again. 11. Why does he loiter here ? 12. How calmly the midnight 
moon ascends ! 13. Ill weeds grow apace. 14. No harm come nigh 
thee ! 15. What reason did he give for his absence? 16. The spirits 
of your fathers shall start from every wave. 17. Three years she grew 
in sun and shower. 18. Raise the flag at sunrise. 19. May the 
thought of those happier days cheer you in your lonely home. 20. The 
birds have gone to sleep. 

130. Simple and Complete Subject. — The subject is 
sometimes a single word, as in " Clouds arose." But it 
may contain several words, as in "Black, threatening 

clouds arose." In such cases the principal word, gener- 
ally a noun or pronoun, is called the Simple Subject; the 
other words, modifying the simple subject, are called 
Adjuncts of the subject, and the whole made up of the 



no English Grammar 

simple subject and its adjuncts, is called the Complete 
Subject of the sentence. 

The adjuncts of the subject may be : — 

(a) Adjectives. 

(d) Nouns in Apposition or in the Possessive Case. 

(c) Adjective Phrases. 

131. A Phrase is a group of words, without subject or 
predicate, that does the work of a single part of speech. 
Thus in the sentence " He is a man of honor," of honor is a 
phrase, for it does the work of the adjective honorable. 
According as they do the work of adjectives or of adverbs, 
phrases are classified as Adjective Phrases or Adverb 
Phrases. 

EXERCISE 64 

Point out the complete subject, the simple subject, and the adjuncts 
of the simple subject. Classify the adjuncts as adjectives, nouns, or 
adjective phrases : — 

i . Good citizens prefer the welfare of the country to the success of 
their party. 2. A fearful storm arose. 3. John, the gardener, is sick. 
4. The rules of the game were strictly observed. 5. Torres father has 
returned. 6. Captain Parker, a tall, lean man, commanded the second 
company. 7. This old air, sung by a hundred fresh young voices, was 
well worth hearing. 8. The time for action is at hand. 9. Washing- 
ton, our first President, was a surveyor in his early life. 10. Man's 
inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn. 11. The slowly 
waning moon appears. 12. The victory of our team is now assured. 

13. Captain Kidd, the famous pirate, was the terror of all merchantmen. 

14. Water fit to drink was not to be had. 15. A march lasting twenty- 
five days, through dense forests and poisonous swamps, brought us at 
last to the seacoast. 

132. Under noun-subjects are included : — 

(1) Infinitives : To live dishonored is a fearful fate. 

(2) Verbal Nouns in -ing: Digging for hidden gold makes few 
men rich. 



Simple Sentences 1 1 1 

(3) Adjectives used as Nouns : The richest are not always the 
happiest. 

(4) Adverbs of Time and Place used as Nouns : To-morrow will be 
Sunday. 

(5) Any part of speech, when made the subject of discourse : / is 
a personal pronoun. 

133. The infinitive and the verbal noun in -ing show 
their verbal nature by taking as adjuncts, in addition to 
the noun-modifiers already given, the following verb-modi- 
fiers : — 

(a) Object : To give money is not enough. 

(3) Indirect Object : Giving others advice is easy. 

(c) Predicate Noun or Adjective : Looking wise is not a sure sign 
of wisdom. 

(d) Adverb : To live well is to live happily. 

(e) Adverb Phrase : To live within one's income is true economy. 

134. Preparatory It and There. — The pronoun it and the 
adverb there are often used at the beginning of a sentence 
to take the place of the subject, when it is desired to put 
the subject after the verb. 

In the sentence " It is easy to answer that question," the subject is 
to answer that question, and the predicate is is easy , it is used before 
the verb, where we look for the subject, to fill the place until the true 
subject is given. // is to be parsed as a pronoun temporarily holding 
the place of the subject. So there, in " There are three men here," 
merely holds the place of the true subject three men, which is given 
after the verb. 

EXERCISE 65 

Point out the complete subject, the simple subject, and 
the adjuncts of the simple subject : — 

1. To be weak is to be miserable. 2. Seeing is believing. 3. To 
see is to believe. 4. Your coming has made us happy. 5. Making 
hay is hard work. 6. Giving such a man money will not help him 
much. 7. Your being the general's son makes no difference. 8. To 
hear him weep cuts me to the heart. 9. Walking so fast will tire you. 



112 English Grammar 

10. The richest are not always the most generous, n. Yesterday was 
my birthday. 12. Playing with books is not studying. 13. The ayes 
have it. 14. The king's refusing to grant the petition caused a revolu- 
tion. 15. When is a relative adverb. 16. It is hard work rowing 
against the stream. 17. There were three lilies in her hand. 18. There 
came a man on horseback to the gate. 19. You is a personal pronoun. 
20. It is my duty to remind him. 21. There was heard a noise of 
weeping in the house. 22. Loving may be either a participle or a ver- 
bal noun. 

135. Simple and Complete Predicate. — The Predicate 
is that which is said of the Subject. It is, therefore, an 
essential part of any sentence; there can be no sentence 
without a predicate. 

Carthage is not a sentence, for though it names a city, it tells us 
nothing about that city. Nor is The destruction of Carthage a sen- 
tence. It is only a noun with modifiers, of which nothing is yet said. 
But Carthage was destroyed is a sentence, and so is The destruction of 
Carthage removed the last great rival of Rome, for in the first some- 
thing is said of " Carthage," and in the second something is said of 
" the destruction of Carthage. 11 

136. To any complete predication a Finite Verb is essen- 
tial. Infinitives and participles, though they have a verbal 
signification and may be used to complete or modify a 
predicate, cannot make predicates by themselves ; they 
do not put the verbal idea in predicate form. 

137. The Finite Verb is called the Simple Predicate. 
The Complete Predicate includes all that is said of the 
subject; it may be identical with the simple predicate, 
it may be an enlargement of the simple predicate. Thus 
in the sentence " Ice melts," melts is the predicate; in 
"Ice melts rapidly in the sun," melts is the simple predi- 
cate, the adverb rapidly and the adverbial phrase in the 
sun are adjuncts of the simple predicate, and melts rapidly 
in the sun is the complete predicate — all that is said of 
ice in this sentence. 



Simple Sentences 113 

138. The simple predicate may be enlarged by : — 

(1) Direct Object: The frost killed the flowers. 

(2) Indirect Object : He gave each ?nan his share. 

(3) Predicate Noun or Pronoun : Longfellow was a poet. This \she. 

(4) Predicate Adjective : Cherries are ripe. 

(5) Objective Complement (Noun or Adjective) : They made Tom 
captain. He sawed the sticks too short. 

(6) Adverb : Mary sews well. 

(7) Noun in the Objective Case denoting Time, Space, Measure, and 
other Adverbial Relations : It weighs ten pounds. He left Saturday. 
The famine lasted seven years. They walked five miles. 

(8) Complementary Infinitive : They were obliged to return. 

(9) Adverbial Phrase : I met him at the po st office. 

(10) Phrases used as Predicate Adjectives : He was in excellent 
health. He was well off. 

Notes. — 1 . The various parts of speech that may be used as sub- 
ject (see 132) may also be used as object, and with the same modifiers. 

2. The infinitive in (8) may be enlarged by the same elements as 
the subject infinitive (see 133). 

3. The Nominative Absolute, a phrase made up of a noun or pro- 
noun used " absolutely " with a participle or adjective, that is, having no 
grammatical relation except with the participle or adjective, has gener- 
ally the value of an adverb of cause or of time. Sometimes, however, 
it is merely an added fact in abbreviated, non-predicate form. In such 
cases, though not an adverb phrase in the sense of modifying the verb, 
it is nevertheless an addition to the predicate, and is to be counted a 
predicate element in the analysis of the sentence. See 154, 3. 

EXERCISE 66 

Point out the complete predicate, the simple predicate, 
and the adjuncts of the simple predicate : — 

1. George has given Alfred six of his marbles. 2. What reason did 
he give for being late ? 3. It is I. 4. Open the door. 5. The chil- 
dren will soon be ready. 6. It was a famous victory. 7. Alfred the 
Great defended his kingdom against the Danes. 8. The child was 
called John. 9. The washerwoman wrung the clothes dry. 10. Lucy 



114 English Grammar 

plays tolerably well. n. The armies of Rome made Carthage a ruin. 
1 2. Thompson was elected captain of the team. 13. The snake meas- 
ured five feet. 14. The class was told to take the lesson over again. 
15. I met the sheriff on my way home. 16. They were in a great 
hurry. 17. The highwayman became the terror of the country-side. 
18. Learn to eat slowly. 19. He is coming to take tea here Thurs- 
day evening. 20. I have no time to do your sums for you. 21. After 
trying in vain to make a living in business, he became a tramp. 
22. Security is mortals' chiefest enemy. 23. Be on your guard. 
24. He got strong again in a few weeks. 25. My brother was twelve 
years old last month. 26. Some books help us to understand ourselves. 
27. Duncan is in his grave. 28. After life's fitful fever he sleeps well. 
29. Tom stood at the door, his broad-brimmed hat perched on the back 
of his head. 30. I have lived here thirty years. 

COMPLEX SENTENCES 

139. A Clause is a group of words containing a subject 
and a predicate, and used in the sentence with the value 
of a single part of speech. 

Thus in the sentence "I know that you are right," you are right is a 
clause. It is made up of the subject you and the predicate are right ; 
and it is used as the object of the verb know, that is, as a noun. 

A clause is distinguished from a phrase by the fact that 
it contains subject and predicate like a sentence, while a 
phrase does not. It is distinguished from a sentence by 
its use, which is always that of some part of speech in a 
sentence. 

The same words may be in one place a sentence, as in " You are 
right," used alone, and in another place a clause, as in the illustration 
given above, where the same words constitute a clause, because they 
are used with the value of a single part of speech. The clause here is 
marked as such by the conjunction that, which is frequently omitted. 

140. A sentence containing a clause or clauses is called 
a Complex Sentence. 



Complex Sentences 115 

141. A clause may be used 

1. As a Noun : — 

That you have wronged me doth appear in this. 

2. As an Adjective: — ■ 

The house in which we used to live has been sold. 

3. As an Adverb : — 

I will come when I fi7iish my work. 

Clauses, therefore, are of three kinds : — 

Noun Clauses, 
Adjective Clauses, 
Adverb Clauses. 

142. Noun Clauses. — Most of the functions of the noun 
may be performed by clauses. A clause may be 

1. Subject: What lie says makes no difference. 

2. Object of a Verb : He promised that lie would be on 
time. 

3. Object of a Preposition : Tell us about what you saw 
at the cirats. 

4. In Predicate Construction (predicate noun) : The plan 
agreed upon was that each should pay half. 

5. In Apposition : He remembered the proverb, // never 
rams but it pours. 

EXERCISE 67 

Point out the noun clauses and tell how each is used : — 

1. We all hope that you may be successful. 2. Whether you go or 
stay is none of my business. 3. Whatever is, is right. 4. He showed me 
where the best fishing was. 5. Home is what we make it. 6. The 
fact that our provisions were nearly exhausted alarmed us. 7. Things 
are not what they seem. 8. That the money is lost is certain. 9. It is 
certain that the money is lost. 10. Tell me not in mournful numbers, 



n6 English Grammar 

u Life is but an empty dream." 1 1 . I know not what course others may 
pursue. 12. John stayed until after the lights were lit. 13. We relied 
on what you told us. 14. Tell me where you hid it. 15. It is true 
that he found it. 16. It matters little what he thinks. 17. I asked the 
man what he wanted. 18. He said he was ashamed to tell me. 

143. Adjective Clauses. — Clauses that limit or modify 
nouns or pronouns are called Adjective Clauses. They are 
connected with the nouns or pronouns they modify by 
means of relative pronouns or relative adverbs : — 

He that is not with me is against me. The house at which your 
brother boarded has been sold. The cave where the bear spent the 
winter was never found by hunters. The key you gave trie will not 
open the door. The moment 1 saw him I knew him. 

Note. — The connecting relative is sometimes understood, as in the 
last two examples. (See 69.) The clause, of course, is still a relative 
clause. 

EXERCISE 68 

Point out the adjective clauses and tell to what noun or 
pronoun each belongs : — 

1 . God helps those that help themselves. 2. This is the house that 
jack built. 3. It was Christmas, the day that children look forward 
to so eagerly. 4. This is the spot where Warren fell. 5. The house 
he lived in has since been torn down. 6. The uniform the soldiers wore 
was plain and serviceable. 7. The next time you see him, give him 
my message. 8. I had killed the bird that brought the fog and mist. 
9. The hour at which he will arrive is not yet known. 10. A people 
whom I have not known shall serve me. 11. They never fail who die 
in a just cause. 12. That is the man whose child you betriended. 
13. The store where my brother works was broken into by thieves last 
night. 14. The time is not far distant when all our troubles will be 
but pleasant memories. 15. Most of the books that he wrote are 
interesting. 

144. Adverb Clauses. — When a clause restricts or 
otherwise modifies the predicate of a sentence it is called 



Complex Sentences 117 

an Adverb Clause. It may modify the predicate by 
indicating 

1. Time: We saw many strange sights zvhen we were in 
the city. I will wait here till you come back. 

2. Place : My dog follows me wherever I go. They 
crossed wJiere the water was shallozv. 

3. Manner : As the twig is bent the tree is inclined. He 
walks as if he zvere lame. 

4. Degree or Comparison : The more some men have the 
more they want. He is not so gruff as I expected to find 
him. He behaved better than he did last time. 

5. Cause or Reason : He came because you sent for him. 
As he had no other way of making a living, he became a 
hunter. 

6. Purpose : Judge not, that ye be not judged. Be careful 
lest they deceive you. 

7. Result : He is so lame that he can hardly walk. He 
is such a braggart that 710 one pays any attention to him. 

8. Condition : If it rains to-morrow, I shall not go. You 
will not pass unless you do better work. 

9. Concession : Though every one admired him, few loved 
him. He would give to any one that asked him, though his 
creditors remained tinpaid. 

Clauses Modifying Adjectives. — After certain adjectives, 
such as glad, sorry, sitre, afraid, certain, adverb clauses 
are used to complete the meaning : I am glad that he won. 

Note. — These adjectives are construed : (1) with a complementary 
clause, as in the example given above ; (2) with a complementary infin- 
itive, as " I am glad to see you " ; (3) with a prepositional phrase, as 
" I am glad of it" " He is sorry for what he has done." 



1 1 8 English Grammar 

EXERCISE 69 
Point out and classify the adverb clauses : — 

i. Do not fail to call on him after you return. 2. Come this even- 
ing if you have time. 3. The men were so demoralized that the colonel 
could not rally them. 4. When thieves fall out honest men come by 
their rights. 5. As I was crossing the street I saw Brown. 6. As is 
the priest so are the people. 7. Come when you are called. 8. If you 
have tears, prepare to shed them now. 9. The new law was posted at 
all the street corners, that every one might read it. 10. Go where duty 
calls thee. 11. He was taken to a warmer climate, as the doctors said 
that was the only hope of saving his life. 12. He is as lazy as the day 
is long. 13. Since my country calls me, I obey. 14. He is wiser than 
he seems. 15. Let me see you before you leave town. 16. Make hay 
while the sun shines. 17. We are sure that he will come. 18. I am 
sorry you lost it. 

EXERCISE 70 

Classify all the clauses in Exercise 62. 

145. A complex sentence may, of course, contain more 
than one kind of clause. In the sentence " If you were 
present, tell me how it happened/' there is both an 
adverb clause and a noun clause. All three kinds of 
clauses may appear in the same sentence. 

146. A clause may be itself complex, that is, may contain 
clauses used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs within the 
clause. 

In the sentence " It has often been observed that, when the eyes of 
the infant first open upon the world, the reflected rays of light which 
strike them from the myriad of surrounding objects present to him no 
image, but a medley of colors and shadow's," the time clause when the 
eyes of the infant first open upon the world is adverb clause to present, 
and the relative clause which strike them from the myriad of sur- 
rounding objects is adjective clause to rays. But rays and present are 
1 themselves respectively subject and predicate of the clause introduced 
by that, which is a noun clause, being the true subject of the sentence. 



Sentence Analysis 119 



COMPOUND SENTENCES 

147. When two or more sentences are put together 
and treated as one, they make what is called a Compound 
Sentence. Thus in "I called, but he did not answer/' 
/ called, he did not answer, are coordinate sentences, so 
closely united in thought as to form but one sentence. 

148. In the example given above the parts of the com- 
pound sentence are both simple sentences ; but any or all 
of the members of a compound sentence may be complex. 
For example : — 

I liked that book very well when I first read it, but it does not please 
me so well now. 

He called to them, but they could not hear what he said. 

After the war was over, he returned to his farm ; and there he lived 
until his brother died. 

149. On the other hand, a complex sentence may con- 
tain two of more clauses having the same construction : 
I foresaw that the plan would fail, and that we should 
come out poorer than before. Such clauses are called 
Coordinate Clauses. 

150. A compound subject, as in "John and James were absent 
yesterday," does not make the sentence compound any more than a plural 
subject does in the sentence " Two of the boys were absent yesterday." 

The same is true of the compound predicate. The sentence, "The 
speaker then bowed and took his seat," has a compound predicate, but 
is not therefore a compound sentence. 

SENTENCE ANALYSIS 

151. To analyze a sentence is to resolve it into its parts. 
First, tell whether the sentence is simple, complex, or 
compound; then point out the simple subject, with its 



120 English Grammar 

adjuncts, classifying them, and analyzing phrases and 
clauses; then point out the simple predicate and its 
adjuncts, analyzing phrases and clauses as in the subject. 
For example : — 

i. When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I 
should live till I were married. 

This is a complex sentence. 

The subject is I; it has no adjuncts. 

The verb is did think. Its adjuncts are : — 

The negative adverb not ; the noun clause / should live 
till I were mai'ried, object of did think ; and the 
adverb clause of time when I said I would die a 
bachelor, modifying did think. 

The noun clause, object of did think, is analyzed as 
follows : — 

Subject, /; verb, should live ; till I were married, ad- 
verb clause of time, limiting should live. In this time 
clause / is the subject, were married is the predicate, 
and //// is a subordinate conjunction, joining the 
clause as a time modifier to should live. 

The adverb clause when I said I would die a bachelor is 
analyzed as follows : — 

Subject, /; verb, said; I zvould die a bachelor, noun 
clause, object of said; when, conjunctive adverb, 
modifying said, and joining the whole clause as time 
modifier to the verb did think. Of the noun clause, 
object of said, the subject is // the verb, woidd die ; 
and bachelor is predicate nominative, used with would 
die to complete the predicate. A is an adjective quali- 
fying bachelor. 



Sentence Analysis 121 

The analysis of this sentence may be shown as fol- 
lows : — 

Subject: I. 

Simple predicate : did think. 
Adjuncts of simple pred. : 
Negative adverb : not. 

Noun clause, object of did think : I should live till I were ?narried. 
Subject : /. 

Simple pred. : should live. 
Adjuncts of simple pred. : 

Adverb clause : //// / were married. 
Subject : /. 

Predicate : were married. 
Conjunction : till. 
Adverb clause to did think : when I said I would die a bachelor. 
Subject : /". 
Simple pred. : said. 
Adjuncts of simple pred. : 

Noun clause, object of said: I would die a bachelor. 
Subject : /. 

Simple pred. : would die. 
Adjuncts of pred. : 

Pred. nominative : bachelor. 
Adjunct : a. 
Conjunctive adverb : when. 



2, Beneath those rugged elms, that yew tree's shade, 
Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap, 
Each in his narrow cell forever laid, 
The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep. 

This is a complex sentence. The complete subject is : 
The rude forefathers of the hamlet, each in his narrow cell 
forever laid ; the complete predicate is : sleep beneath 
those ragged elms, that yezv tree's sJiade, where heaves the 
turf in many a mouldering heap. 



122 English Grammar 

Simple subj. : forefathers. 

Adjuncts of simple subj. : 
Adjectives : the, rude. 
Adjective phrase : of the hamlet. 

Noun dependent on preposition : hamlet. 
Adjective : the. 

Preposition showing relation of hamlet to forefathers : of. 
Pronoun in apposition : each. 

Participle modifying each : laid. 

Adverb phrase : in his narrow cell. 
Noun dependent on prep. : cell. 

Adjuncts of cell: his, narrow. 
Prep, showing relation of cell to laid: in. 
Adverb modifying laid: forever. 
Simple pred. : sleep. 
Adjuncts of simple pred. : 

Adverb phrase : beneath those rugged elms, that yew tree's shade. 
Nouns dependent on preposition : elms, shade. 
Adjuncts of elms : those, rugged. 
Adjunct of shade: that yew tree's. 

Poss. case limiting shade: yew tree's. 
Adjective to yew tree's : that. 
Preposition showing relation of elms and shade to sleep : beneath. 
Adverb clause : where heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap 
Subject : turf. 

Adjective : the. 
Simple pred. : heaves. 
Adjuncts of simple pred. : 

Adverb phrase : in 7nany a mouldering heap. 
Noun dependent on preposition in : heap. 
Adjuncts of heap : mouldering, many a. 
Prep, showing relation of heap to heaves: in. 
Conjunctive adverb : where. 

Written analysis, if required at all, should be used but seldom. 
Analysis is best taught by oral, not by written exercises. 



Analysis of Sentences 123 



REVIEW 

Sentences for analysis and general parsing : — 

1 . Earth with her thousand voices praises God. 

2. That night the baron dreamt of many a woe. 

3. Thou canst not surely be the same that thou didst seem. 

4. Where once we dwelt our name is heard no more. 

5. I love not man the less, but nature more. 

6. The greatest of faults is to be conscious of none. 

7. 'Tis pleasant, sure, to see one's name in print. 

8. I awoke one morning and found myself famous. 

9. No profit grows where is no pleasure taken. 

10. 'Twas certain he could write, and cipher too. 

11. Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep. 

12. A man he w T as to all the country dear. 

13. The village all declared how much he knew. 

14. Man's feeble race what ills aw T ait ! 

15. The hand of little employment hath the daintier sense.. 

16. Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace, 
To silence envious tongues. 

17. When Fortune means to men most good 
She looks upon them with a threatening eye. 

18. What I aspired to be 
And was not, comforts me. 

19. To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, 
Is wasteful and ridiculous excess. 

20. True hope is swift, and flies with swallow's wings ; 
Kings it makes gods, and meaner creatures kings. 

21. How silver-sweet sound lovers' tongues by night? 
Like softest music to attending ears ! 

22. There is a tide in the affairs of men 
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. 

23. Our acts our angels are, or good or ill, 
Our fatal shadows that walk by us still. 



124 English Grammar 

24. Words are like leaves ; and where they most abound, 
Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found. 

25. All times I have enjoyed 

Greatly, have suffered greatly, both with those 
That loved me, and alone. 

26. How dull it is to pause, to make an end, 
To rust unburnished, not to shine in use ! 
As though to breathe were life. 

27. Death closes all : but something ere the end, 
Some work of noble note, may yet be done, ; 
Not unbecoming men that strove with gods. 

28. His life was gentle ; and the elements 

So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up 
And say to all the world, " This was a man ! " 

29. To thine own self be true, 

And it must follow, as the night the day, 
Thou canst not then be false to any man. 

30. The old order changeth, yielding place to new ; 
And God fulfils himself in many ways, 

Lest one good custom should corrupt the world. 

31. He who ascends to mountain-tops shall find 

The loftiest peaks most wrapped in clouds and snow ; 
He who surpasses or subdues mankind 

Must look down on the hate of those below. 

32. Beside yon straggling fence that skirts the way, 
With blossom'd furze unprofitably gay, 
There, in his noisy mansion, skilled to rule, 
The village master taught his little school. 

33. There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream, 

The earth, and every common sight 

To me did seem 
Apparelled in celestial light. 



Analysis of Sentences 125 

34. They are slaves who fear to speak 
For the fallen and the weak ; 
They are slaves who dare not be 
In the right with two or three. 

35. It little profits that, an idle king, 

By this still hearth, among these barren crags, 
Matched with an aged wife, I mete and dole 
Unequal laws unto a savage race, 
That hoard, and feed, and sleep, and know not me. 

36. Though much is taken, much abides ; and though 
We are not now that strength which in old days 
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are ; 
One equal temper of heroic hearts, 

Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will 
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. 

37. Alexander wept when he heard from Anaxarchus that there was 
an infinite number of worlds ; and his friends asking him if any accident 
had befallen him, he returned this answer, " Do you not think it a 
matter worthy of lamentation that, when there is such a vast multitude 
of them, we have not yet conquered one ? " 



PART IV 



CHAPTER XIX 

SYNTAX 

152. Syntax is that part of grammar which sets forth the 
principles controlling the relations of words within the sen- 
tence. Much of it has already been presented in Part II 
and in Part III ; but there remain to be considered many 
matters not yet touched upon, and others that have been 
mentioned but not fully explained. They may be grouped 
under the following heads : Case Relations, Syntax of the 
Adjective, Concord, Tense, Mood and Modal Auxiliaries, 
Infinitive, Participle and Verbal Noun. 

CASE RELATIONS 

153. Of cases, as disanguished by inflection, English 
nouns have but two : man, man's. Some of the pronouns 
have three: he, his, him ; who, whose, whom. Adjectives, 
which in Anglo-Saxon had case inflections like nouns, 
have, in modern English, no inflection for case. 

But, though English has at most only three case forms, 
and English nouns only two, the case relations are as 
varied as in other languages. It is customary in English 
grammar to group these uses under one or other of the 
three case names given to the forms of the pronoun : 

126 



Case Relations 127 

Nominative, Possessive, Objective. We can in most cases 
tell whether a noun is in the nominative or the objective 
case by seeing what form the personal pronoun would take 
in the same place. 

154. Nominative Case. — 1. The subject of a finite verb 
is in the nominative case : — 

John knows his lessons. She looks well. Is he gone? 

The subject of a verb in the imperative mood (always the pronoun 
of the second person) is not expressed, except for emphasis or contrast : 
Hand me the blotter. 

The subject is sometimes omitted before verbs in other moods. In 
"Thank you, sir," the subject / is omitted. In "Bless your heart," 
the subject is omitted, and, indeed, is hardly thought of. 

On the other hand, the subject is sometimes repeated in the form of 
a pronoun, either for emphasis or to restate a long or remote subject : 
The Lord, he is God. 

To make a happy fireside clime 

To weans and wife — 
That's the true pathos and sublime 

Of human life. 

The redundant use of the pronoun when no emphasis is intended, as 
in " Tom, he was there, 1 ' often heard in colloquial speech, is inelegant. 

2. The noun or pronoun indicating the person addressed 
is in the nominative case : — 

Where have you been, John? 

O Thou that hearest prayer, to thee shall all flesh come ! 

3. A noun or pronoun in the absolute construction with 
a participle is in the nominative case : — 

The rain being over, we set out. 

He being absent, no business could be transacted. 



128 English Grammar 

The case of the noun or pronoun in this construction was, in older 
English, the dative (modern objective) ; and survivals of this older use 
are not infrequent in Milton : x — 

Dagon hath presumed 
Me overthrown, to enter lists with God. 

The absolute construction is to be kept distinct from that of the 
appositive participle, where the noun or pronoun has its construction 
independent of the participle, and the participle is merely a modifier. • 
In " John, hearing the news, hurried home," John is the subject, and 
the participial phrase is an adjunct of the subject ; but in " John having 
told us the news, we were prepared for their coming," John is neither 
subject nor object, and has no construction except with the participle 
having told. Hence it is said to be used absolutely. 

4. A noun or pronoun may be described or explained 
by joining to it another noun or pronoun standing for the 
same person or thing. The describing noun or pronoun is 
said to be in apposition with the noun or pronoun described : 
Edward, the king's eldest son, was slain. 

The word in apposition is in the same case as the prin- 
cipal word. Hence, a noun or pronoun in apposition with 
a word in the nominative case is in the nominative case : — 

My old friends, they that toiled and suffered with me through that 
time, are all gone now. Garrick, the famous actor* was his friend. 

Appositive epithets sometimes become so closely united with the 
words they modify that the whole is felt to make but one name : 
William the Conqueror, Peter the Hermit. 

5. After the intransitive verbs of incomplete predica- 
tion (or copulative verbs, see 85), the noun or pronoun that 
completes the predication, standing for the same person or 
thing as the subject, is in the nominative case : — 

Are you the man ? I am he. 
They soon became friends. 
Arnold turned traitor. 

1 This use in Milton may be explained, however, as an imitation of the Latin 
Absolute Construction. 



Case Relations 129 

Colloquial English uses the objective case of the personal pronoun 
in such expressions as " It's me? This is supported by some gram- 
marians, but it is to be avoided in dignified language. 

Verbs that in the active voice take an objective predicate noun 
(see 86, 158 4) retain the predicate noun in the passive construction, 
but in the nominative case, to agree with the subject. Thus " They 
called him Longshanks " (objective), becomes " He was called Long- 
shanks (nominative, to agree with he). Other examples are : — 

Thompson was elected governor. 
My uncle has been made post?naster. 

155. Possessive Case. — The possessive is the only case 
in English nouns that is marked by a special inflection (V). 

The use of the possessive is to limit the meaning of a 
noun. It usually denotes possession and therefore is used 
chiefly of the names of persons, or of animals supposed to 
have intelligence. Thus we say Marys book, a horse's 
mane, but not the halVs ceiling, the book's cover. When a 
thing is personified, however, the noun may be used in the 
possessive : music's voice, the law's delay. There are, 
moreover, many phrases well established in the language 
in which the possessive case does not denote possession. 
Such are a year's work, three months' time, at arm's lengthy 
a winter s tale, at a moment's notice. 

The possessive is occasionally used to denote the object of the action 
implied in the principal noun. In the sentence " I will avenge my 
father's murder," the speaker does not mean the murder that his father 
committed, but the murder committed upon his father. So " his 
wrongs n means the wrongs that have been done him, whereas " his 
crimes " means the crimes that he has done. Other examples are : 
their defeat (= defeat of them), his like (= the like of him). This use 
of the possessive is called the objective possessive (corresponding to 
what is known in other languages as the Objective Genitive). 

156. When one noun is in apposition with another noun 
in the possessive case, both nouns are, of course, in con- 



130 English Grammar 

struction, possessive, but the case inflection is given to one 
only : of Hamlet our dear brother's death ; for man the 
creature's sin ; at Johnsoris the bookseller. 

157. The word that the possessive limits is frequently 
omitted when it can be readily supplied from the context : 
This book is my brother's ; He is staying at the Joneses' ; 
They took lunch at Delmonico' s ; Meet me at the photog- 
rapher s. 

The use of the possessive after of in such expressions as 
"a friend of father's," "that horse of Brown's/' "this home 
of ours," "that wife of his," is logically redundant, as it 
expresses the possessive relation twice ; but it is an estab- 
lished idiom of the language. It is commonly called the 
"double possessive." 

158. Objective Case. — 1. The direct object of a transi- 
tive verb is in the objective case : — 

They have finished their work. 
Longfellow wrote 'Evangeline. 
Where did you leave your book f 

2. Some intransitive verbs may take an object of kindred 
meaning. This is called the cognate object : — 

He died the death of the righteous. 

Fight the good fight of faith. 

I dreamed a dream* 

Eyes looked love. 

She looked daggers at him. 

He ran his godly race. 

They danced a reel. 

He wanted to rough it like the commonest laborer. 

Some transitive verbs may take, in addition to the direct 
object, a cognate object : — 

The ruffian thereupon struck him a blow. 



Case Relations 131 

3. The indirect object of a verb is in the objective 
case : — 

The old man told me a wonderful story. 
His uncle has given him a pony to ride. 
He left them all his wealth. 
Send me word at once. 

Instead of the indirect object this relation may be expressed by to 
ox for with the objective : They sent me (indirect object) word at once 
= they at once sent word to me (prepositional phrase) ; the carpenter 
made him (indirect object) a sled = the carpenter made a sled for 
him (prep, phrase). Do not, however, parse the indirect object as 
" governed by to or for understood." 

The relation of indirect object is expressed in Old 
English and in some other languages by a special case, 
the Dative. The functions of the dative are now per- 
formed either by prepositional phrases or by the objective 
case. Besides that of indirect object the following dative 
constructions appear in modern English : — 

(a) The reflexive dative, with intransitive verbs : — 

They sat them down to rest. 

(J?) The so-called ethical dative : — 

. . . the Hotspur of the North, he that kills ?jie six or seven dozen 
of Scots at a breakfast. 

One Colonna cuts me the throat of OrsmTs baker. 

[c) The dative after near {nearer, next} and like: — 

He looks very much like me. 

Were you near him when he did it ? 

The case after these words is not to be explained as " objective after 
a preposition understood." 

4. Certain transitive verbs take, besides the object, a 
noun to complete the meaning (see 86). The completing 
word after these transitive verbs, standing for the same 



132 English Grammar 

person or thing as the object, is in the same case, the 
objective : — 

They made him captain. 

You once called me your friend. 

A noun in this construction is to be parsed as Objective 
Complement. 

Some of the verbs that take an objective complement are make, 
choose, elect, appoint, create, declare, call. 

As already pointed out {Nom. Case 5), when these verbs are used in 
the passive voice, the object of the action becomes the subject of the 
sentence and the complement is retained, but in the nominative case, to 
agree with the subject. 

5. A noun or pronoun dependent upon a preposition is 
in the objective case : — 

Mary has written a letter to her aunt. 
He spoke to them. 
Is this for me f 
Hurry after him. 

6. Nouns are sometimes used in the objective case, with- 
out prepositions, with a purely adverbial value. The most 
important of these uses are to denote time, space, weight, 
measure, direction, manner : — 

I saw him last week. 

They stayed three days. 

I will not yield an inch. 

The flag-pole is one hundred/^/ high. 

He went the rest of the way alone. 

The bass weighed five pounds. 

Alfred hurried home. 

Have it your own way. 

7. In exclamations, the objective is sometimes used abso- 
lutely, without any governing word : — 

Ah me I Dear me! Me miserable ! 



Case Relations 133 

8. A noun or pronoun in apposition with a word in the 
objective case must (see 154, 4) be in the objective case: — 

I met Barlowe, the physician, on the landing. 

They found their false guide, him that had led them into an ambush, 
peering over the edge of the cliff. 

REVIEW 

Give the case and construction of each noun and pro- 
noun : — 

1. Happy mortals then were we, 
I loved Myra, Myra me. 

2. A transient calm the happy scenes bestow, 
And for a moment lull the sense of woe. 

3. The poor wren, 
The most diminutive of birds, will fight, 
Her young ones in her nest, against the owl. 

4. Strong Son of God, immortal Love, 

Whom we, that have not seen thy face, 
By faith, and faith alone, embrace, 
Believing where we cannot prove ; 

5. Thine are these orbs of light and shade; 

Thou madest Life in man and brute ; 
Thou madest Death ; and lo, thy foot 
Is on the skull which thou hast made. 

6. I strove with none, for none was worth my strife. 

Nature I loved, and, next to Nature, Art ; 
I warmed both hands before the fire of Life ; 
It sinks, and I am ready to depart. 

7. The sun descending in the west, 

The evening star does shine, 
The birds are silent in their nest, 
And I must seek for mine. 



IJ4 English Grammar 

8. Even now, where Alpine solitudes ascend, 
I sit me down, a pensive hour to spend. 

9. Now fades the glimmering landscape on the sight, 

And all the air a solemn stillness holds, 
Save where the beetle Wheels his droning flight, 
And drowsy tinklings lull the distant fold. 

10. When Music, heavenly maid, was young, 
While yet in early Greece she sung, 
The passions oft, to hear her shell, 
Thronged around her magic cell. 

1 1 . Favors to none, to all she smiles extends ; 
Oft she rejects, but never once offends. 

12. Then lies him down the lubber fiend, 
And, stretched out all the chimney's length, 
Basks at the fire his hairy strength, 

And crop-full out of door he flings, 
Ere the first cock his matin rings. 

13. But oh ! the heavy change, now thou art gone, 
Now thou art gone, and never must return ! 
Thee, Shepherd, thee the woods and desert caves, 
With wild thyme and the gadding vine o'ergrown, 
And all their echoes, mourn. 

14. From scenes like these old Scotia's grandeur springs? 

That makes her loved at home, revered abroad ; 
Princes and lords are but the breath of kings, 
An honest man's the noblest work of God. 

15. The mountains look on Marathon — 

And Marathon looks on the sea; 
And musing there an hour alone, 

I dreamed that Greece might still be free ; 
For, standing on the Persians' grave, 
I could not deem myself a slave. 



Syntax of Adjectives 135 

16. In the spring a» fuller crimson comes upon the robin's breast ; 
In the spring the wanton lapwing gets himself another crest. 

17. But me, not destined such delights to share, 
My prime of life in wandering spent and care ; 
Impelled, with steps unceasing, to pursue 
Some fleeting good that mocks me with the view ; 
That, like the circle bounding earth and skies, 
Allures from far, yet, as I follow, flies ; 
My fortune leads to traverse realms alone, 
And find no spot of all the world my own. 



SYNTAX OF ADJECTIVES 

159. Adjectives are in their nature dependent words ; 
they belong to some noun or pronoun, either expressed or 
understood. According to the relation an adjective bears 
to its principal, noun or pronoun, it is said to be in the 
Attributive, Appositive, or Predicate construction. 

1. The Attributive use is that in which the adjective 
directly modifies or limits the meaning of the principal 
word. In this use the adjective generally precedes, al- 
though it may, especially in poetry, follow the word to 
which it belongs : — 

A good south wind sprung up. 

The fair breeze blew ; the white foam flew. 

A knavish speech sleeps in a foolish ear. 

At last he rose and twitched his mantle blue ; 
To-morrow to fresh woods and pastures new. 

2. When the adjective is less closely united with the 
principal word, and rather adds to than limits or modifies 
it, it is said to be in the Appositive construction. The 
appositive adjective or adjective phrase is often a reduced 
clause and as such is in sense a modifier of the predicate, 



136 English Grammar 

although as adjective it is to be construed with the noun 
or pronoun, not with the verb : — 

Grand, gloomy, and peculiar, he sat upon the throne a sceptred 
hermit. 

I listened motionless and still. 

3. We have already seen that a noun or pronoun may- 
be used after a verb, not as object, but to complete the 
predicate. Adjectives may be used in the same way to 
complete the predicate, referring either to the subject (see 
Nom. Case, 5) or to the object (see Obj. Case, 4), In the 
sentence, "The children are happy," happiness is not 
simply attributed to the children, but is predicated of 
them. In the sentence, " He made the stick straight," 
straight is a part of what he did to the stick. 

Sweet was the sound, when oft at evening's close. 
Up yonder hill the village murmur rose. 

Fear made him speechless. 

160. Comparison. — Some exceptional and idiomatic uses 
and forms of the comparative and superlative degrees are 
to be noted : — 

1. Although the comparative is the usual construction 
in the comparison of two objects (" She was the. fairer of 
the two "), the superlative is found in this use throughout 
the whole range of English literature : — 

Let us make incision for your love, 

To prove whose blood is reddest, his or mine. — Shakspere. 

Then thou shalt see, or rather to thy sorrow 

Soon feel, whose god is strongest, thine or mine. — Milton. 

And who were tutors ? " Lady Blanche," she said, 
"And Lady Psyche." Which was prettiest, 
Best natured ? " Lady Psyche ." — Tennyson. 



Syntax of Adjectives 137 

The idiomatic use is seen in such expressions as, " Put your best foot 
foremost" 

The same is true of adverbs : She spoke first, 

2. The superlative is not infrequently used to denote a 
high degree of the quality attributed, without making a 
comparison : — 

This is a most ingenious device. 

His answer was most clear and satisfactory. 

My dearest mother ! 

This counsellor 
Is now most still, most secret, and most grave, 
Who was in life a foolish prating knave. 

The superlative of adverbs is used in the same way. 
A similar use of the comparative in the sense of too or rather is 
much less frequently found : — 

Help thou, O holy virgin, chief of nine, 
Thy weaker novice to perform thy will. 

3. In older writers, frequently in Shakspere, double 
forms of the comparative and superlative are very com- 
mon : — 

The duke of Milan, 
And his more braver daughter could control thee. 

The most unkindest cut of all. 

161. Other Parts of Speech used as Adjectives. — Nouns 
and noun-phrases are often used to modify other nouns, 
with the logical value of adjectives: — 

A railroad accident, an insurance agent ; he showed his city breed- 
ing ; they celebrated their silver wedding ; the Lehigh Valley Coal and 
Transportation Company. 

Rarely, adverbs are found used as adjectives, that is, to modify 
nouns : — 

For thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities ; his ahnost 
despair ; the then ruler ; the above example ; my evermore delight. 

This use of the adverb is now avoided. 



138 English Grammar 



CONCORD 

162. We have seen already (Part II) that verbs agree 
with their subjects, and pronouns agree with their ante- 
cedents, in number and person. Pronouns that distin- 
guish gender must agree with their antecedents in this 
respect also : — 

I am, thou art, he is, you were. 

One sows, another reaps. 

England expects every man to do his duty. 

Lucy has lost her scissors, and cannot finish her work without them. 

1, who have seen all countries, still prefer my own. 

O Thou that seest all things, judge my cause ! 

163. Concord of Pronoun with Antecedent. — Three con- 
structions in which errors are often made call for special 
consideration here. 

1. When a pronoun has for antecedent two or more 
nouns or pronouns in the singular number joined by the 
conjunctions or, nor, either . . . or, neither . . . nor, the 
pronoun agrees with each separately, and is therefore in 
the singular : — 

Neither yard nor garden has any fence around it. 
Neither horse nor rider could find his way back. 
A civilized man, or a Hottentot, would have betrayed his surprise ; 
not so the Indian. 

A fool or a knave may boast of his consistency. 

2. In like manner the distributives, each, every^ either, 
neither, require the reference words to be in the singular : — 

Each member of the committee acted according to his convictions. 

Every castle had its stout defenders. 

Everybody in Vanity Fair spends his time in foolishness, 

Either of the sisters would gladly have given up her room to the guest 



Concord 139 

The absence of a personal pronoun of common gender 
in English makes it difficult to observe this rule where both 
sexes are involved. Any one, everybody, etc., may be used 
for either man or woman ; but he is masculine, she femi- 
nine. Hence the difficulty in such sentences as this : — 

Every boy and girl paid dime cheerfully. 

What pronoun shall be used before dime? Not his, 
because that excludes the girls ; not her, because that 
excludes the boys. The strict logical construction demands 
both, his or her. But this is cumbersome and sounds awk- 
ward. The plural pronoun is used in such sentences by 
many good speakers and writers : — 

Every boy and girl paid their dime. 

In many cases, concord can be preserved by changing 
the construction of the sentence : — 

All the boys and girls paid their dimes cheerfully. 
The dime was cheerfully paid by each boy and girl. 

3. In the sentence, "This is one of the best novels 
that have ever been published in America, ,, the antece- 
dent of the relative that is not one, but novels, and the verb 
is therefore plural {have). In such sentences the use of 
a singular verb as predicate to the relative pronoun is 
wrong. 

For the concord of pronouns with collective nouns see 164, 4. 

164. Concord of Subject and Predicate. — 1. Two or more 
singular subjects connected by or, nor, either . . . or, 
neither . . . nor, require the verb in the singular : — 

One or the other of them is guilty. 

Neither your father nor your grandfather thinks so. 



140 English Grammar 

2. Two or more singular subjects connected by and 
require a plural verb : — 

Mercy and truth have met together. 

France and Germany are adjoining countries. 

Certain exceptions are to be made to this rule : - — 

(a) Sometimes the verb is in the singular agreeing with 
the nearest of the two or more subjects, as in Milton : — 

Thence to the land where flows Ganges and Indus. 

This is especially frequent when the subjects follow the 

verb : — 

For wide is heard the thundering fray, 
The rout, the ruin, the dismay. — Scott. 

(J?) When two or more nouns go to express one idea, or 
are closely connected in thought, the verb is often put in 
the singular : — 

Do you know where my needle and thread is f 

Where envy and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. 

— Bible. 

Bitter constraint and sad occasion dear compels me. —Milton. 
I should know what God and man is. — Tennyson. 
Distress and anguish comet h upon you. — Bible. 

(c) Two or more subjects preceded by the distributives 
each, every \ etc., require the verb in the singular: — 

Every man, woman, and child was there. 
Each leaf and blade of grass was parched. 

3. A subject in the plural requires a plural verb : — 

The boys have come back. 

To this rule the following exception is to be noted : — 
When the subject, though plural in form, is in meaning 
a unit, the verb is singular : — 



Concord 141 

Ten years is 2l long time to wait. 

Five dollars means a good deal to him. 

So in the titles of books, etc., and plural forms used simply as 
words : — 

Caesar's a Commentaries on the Gallic War " is a proof of his literary 
ability. 

" Paul and Virginia " is the work of a Frenchman, St. Pierre. 

" Books " is a noun in the plural number. 

4. Collective nouns in the singular take either a singular 
or a plural verb, according as the whole or the individuals 
composing the whole are had in mind : — 

The committee has decided to take no further steps at present. 

The committee were determined to settle the matter among them- 
selves. 

The cavalry were scattered. 

The tenth regiment was stationed on the right. 

It will be observed that pronouns referring to collective nouns, as in 
the second example, are, like the verb, either singular or plural according 
to the meaning. 

5. When there are two or more subjects connected by 
or, of which some are singular and some plural, the verb 
agrees with the nearest subject : — 

The governor or his advisers were held responsible. 

6. When two or more subjects connected by or, either 
. . . or, nor, neither . . . nor, are of different persons, the 
verb, in those tenses which distinguish person, generally 
agrees with the nearest subject : — - 

Neither Mary nor I know where he is. 

Were neither you nor your brother at the station ? 

The fact, however, that in such cases the verb can agree 
with only one of the subjects, when it should agree with 
all, leads us either to repeat the verb, as in 

Either you are wrong or I am f 



142 English Grammar 

or to employ some verb that does not distinguish person, 

as in 

Either you or I must be wrong. 

TENSE 

165. Present Tense. — The present tense, besides repre- 
senting an act or condition in the present time, or with 
reference to the present, has the following special uses : — 

1. It is sometimes used for the future: — 

When do you leave? 

I go in the morning. 

To-morrow is Sunday. 

I am going to the city next week. 

2. It is sometimes used for the past, especially in lively 
narration : — 

He reached the road in safety. Seeing an officer, he suddenly turns 
and runs in the opposite direction. But here he is confronted by 
another difficulty. 

3. It is used — even in clauses dependent upon past 
tenses, where the past tense might be expected — in 
statements of universal truth : — 

He denied that the earth is round. 

She taught her pupils that honesty is always better than shrewdness. 

I660 Present Perfect Tense. — The present perfect tense 
is often used to express the present result of a past act : — - 

Burke has written speeches that will compare favorably with the 
greatest orations of antiquity. 

A tree has fallen across the road. 



Subjunctive Mood 143 



SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD 

The indicative and imperative moods have been already 
discussed, and need no further treatment here. The sub- 
junctive, however, though of less frequent occurrence, 
requires, on account of the difficulties it presents, more 
detailed treatment. 

167. Subjunctive in Principal Sentences. — The Sub- 
junctive Mood gets its name from the fact that it is 
generally used in subjoined clauses. It has, however, in 
English literature three well-defined uses in principal 
sentences : — 

1. Imperative Subjunctive, expressing a command. This 
differs from the imperative mood, which is never used except 
in the second person : — 

Sit we down, 
And let us hear Bernardo speak of this 

Sing we to our God above 
Praise eternal as his love. 

Come one, come all, this rock shall fly 
From its firm base as soon as I. 

Note. — In modern English prose the imperative mood of the verb 
let, with complementary infinitive, would be used : Let us sit down. Let 
us sing. Let one come, let all come. 

2. Optative Subjunctive, expressing a wish : — 

Thy kingdom come. God bless you ! Light be the earth above thee ! 

Note. — In modern prose we generally use may with complementary 
infinitive : May thy kingdom come. May the earth be light above thee ! 



144 English Grammar 

3. Subjunctive of Consequence (the condition being fre- 
quently not expressed) : — 

It were madness to attempt it. It were best you let him know. 
It had been so with us, had we been there. 

Note. — In modern prose we should say rather : It would be madness 
to attempt it. It would be best that you let him know. It would have 
been so with us, if we had been there. 

168. Subjunctive in Clauses. — The subjunctive is used 

1. In clauses of Purpose: — 

Gather up the fragments, that nothing be lost. 

But that it spread no further, let us straightway threaten them. 

2. In clauses of Result : — 

He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death. 
So live that, when thy summons comes . . . 
Thou go not, like the quarry slave at night, 
Scourged to his dungeon, etc. 

3. In Indirect Questions : — 

He shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God. 
Whether it be true or false I cannot say. 

4. In Noun clauses: — 

'Twere best he speak no harm of Brutus here ! 

If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee ? 

See thou tell no man. 

5. In Time clauses : — 

Come down ere my child die. 

Why may not imagination trace the noble dust of Alexander, till he 
find it stopping a bunghole ? 



Subjunctive Mood 145 

6. In Conditional clauses : — 

If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down. 

If it assume my noble father's person, 

I'll speak to it. 

If I were you, I would not go. 

7. In clauses of Concession : — 

Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. 

I will find where truth is hid, though it were hid indeed within the 
centre. 

Note. — Instead of the subjunctive in clauses modern English 
commonly uses the indicative, or the auxiliaries may, might, would, 
should : Come down before my child dies. That nothing may be lost. 
Though he should slay me. In such expressions as " If I were you," 
however, the subjunctive is always used by careful writers and speakers. 

EXERCISE 71 
Classify and parse the verbs in the subjunctive mood : — 

1 . Find we another home, a better land, 
Since ours has proved unkind. 

2. Now, brothers, bending o'er the accursed loom, 
Stamp we our vengeance deep, and ratify his doom. 

3. Come weal or want, come good or ill, 
Let young and old accept their part. 

4. Sleep rock thy brain, 

And never come mischance betwixt us twain ! 

5. Quoth she, " The Devil take the goose, 
And God forget the stranger ! " 

6. Good angels guard thy slumbers ! 

7. Blest be that spot where cheerful guests retire 
To pause from toil and trim their evening fire. 

8. Could Nature's bounty satisfy the breast, 
The sons of Italy were surely blest. 



146 English Grammar 

9. Mated with a squalid savage — what to me were sun or clime ? 

10. Life piled on life 

Were all too little, and of one to me 
Little remains. 

i 11. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy 
face, that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which 
is in secret. 

12. Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thcu art in the way 
with him ; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and 
the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 

13. If damned custom have not brassed it so, 
That it be proof and bulwark against sense. 

14. 'Tis hard to say if greater want of skill 
Appear in writing or in judging ill. 

15. 'Twere good she were spoken with : for she may strew 
Dangerous conjectures in ill-breeding minds. 

16. Thy dukedom I resign, and do entreat 
Thou pardon me my wrong. 

17. One would think his mother's milk were scarce out of him. 

18. Doth our law judge any man before it hear him ? 

19. Stay, monster, ere thou sink. 

20. The tree will wither long before it fall. 

21. If thou do these things, show thyself to the world. 

22. Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth 
alone. 

23. O God ! I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a 
king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams. 

24. For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak 
With most miraculous organ. 

25. She refuseth to hear the voice of the charmer, charm he never 
so wisely. 

26. Then give me leave, that I may turn the key, 
That no man enter till my tale be done. 



Modal Auxiliaries 147 



MODAL AUXILIARIES 

169. We have seen that the Finite verb, that is, the 
verb limited by a subject, has only three moods : indicative, 
subjunctive, and imperative. The infinitive is really not 
a mood, as it has no subject nominative. 

We have seen also that mood has nothing to do with fact. 
Mood is the tone of affirmation, the manner in which a 
verb says something of its subject, regardless of whether 
the predication is a fact or not a fact. 

Mood is sometimes confounded with the meaning of the verb, with 
Which mood has nothing to do. To call " can go " the potential mood, 
because potentiality lies in the meaning of can, is to obscure hopelessly 
any right conception of mood. In " I am able to walk " and u I can 
walk" the mood is the same. If mood had to do with the meaning of 
the verb, there would be no end to moods. For instance, we might call 
u I will go," the volential mood ; " I beg you to go," the deferential 
mood ; " I am sorry I went," the penitential mood, and so on. In 
" I doubt it," doubt is expressed, but the mood is indicative. 

170. Verb-Phrases made up of the auxiliaries may, 
might '; would, and should, with a following infinitive, are 
in the indicative or subjunctive mood, according to the 
conception or the manner of affirmation. These " auxilia- 
ries/' however, are often principal verbs; and can, could, 
and must, often classed as auxiliaries, are always principal 
verbso But for convenience the uses of all are here given. 
They are followed by the pure infinitive, that is, the infini- 
tive without to. 

It is sometimes difficult to determine whether the verb-phrase repre- 
sents the indicative or the subjunctive mood. In German, for instance, 
the mood is determined for the most part by the form of the auxiliary ; 
but in English the auxiliary forms for both moods are now identical, 
and the mood can be determined only by the sense. The mood of 



148 English Grammar 

these words when used as principal verbs is determined in the same 
way as that of any other finite verb. 

In the summary of uses given below, the whole phrase 
is italicized when used as the equivalent of a mood ; when 
the finite verb is principal and not auxiliary, it alone is 
italicized. 

171. Can: — 

Ability : I can read. He can lift that with one hand. 

In both examples, can is in the indicative mood. The verb that 
follows can is to be parsed as the complementary infinitive. In "If 
you can read it, can lift it (and you say you can), why don't you do it ?" 
the mood is indicative. In " If I can find it (a mere supposition), I will 
send it, 11 the mood of can is, according to theory, the subjunctive, though 
in actual practice the indicative is commonly used in English in such 
conditional clauses, as u If it rains, he will not go," " If he is at home, 
tell him." 

Could (past tense of can) : — 

Ability : He could read Latin at ten years of age. I 
could lift a heavier weight some years ago. 

In both examples could is in the indicative. In " If I could (were 
able to) afford it, I would buy it," could is in the subjunctive. 

172. May: — 

1. Possibility : Gather ye roses while ye may. I may 
go yet. 

2 Permission : You may (are permitted to) go now. 

3. Wish : May he live long and happily. 

4. Purpose, etc. : He studies that he may learn. 

I hope he may come. 
I fear he may lose it. 

In 1 and 2, may is in the indicative ; in 3 and 4 may live, may learn, 
may co?ne, may lose, may be parsed together as the predicate, equiva- 
lents of the subjunctive in such sentences as, " Long live the king," 
u Thy kingdom come" " Gather up the fragments that nothing be lost," 



Modal Auxiliaries 149 

where in ordinary prose we commonly say, May the king live long, 
May thy kingdom co?ne, that nothing may be lost. 

Might (past tense of may) : — 

1. Possibility : It might (possibly) be true. 

2. Permission : He said I might (was permitted to) go. 

3. Purpose, etc. : He studied that he might learn. 

I hoped he might come. 
I feared he might lose it. 

In 1 and 2, might is in the indicative ; in 3, parse might learn, might 
come, might lose, together, as equivalents of the subjunctive. 

173. Would (past tense of will) : — 

i. Habitual action or state: Coleridge would talk (was 
in the habit of talking) for hours. 

2. Unreal conditional : He would tell, if he knew. 

3. Representing will in indirect discourse : He said he 
would do it (" I will do it ") ; I thought you woidd be late 
(" You will be late"). 

4. As principal verb : He would not (was not willing to) 
tell. 

5. Wish : Woidd that the night were come. 

1, 3, and 4 are in the indicative. 1 may be parsed as an equivalent 
of the past indicative. In 2 and 5 the mood is subjunctive. 

174. Should (past tense of shall) : — 

1. Obligation, duty: You should (ought to) write home 
every week. 

2. Unreal conditional : I should tell you, if I knew. 

3. Representing shall in indirect discourse : I thought I 
should freeze (" I shall freeze "). 

4. Equivalent of present subjunctive : It is best that he 
should remain (that he remain) ; If I should see him to-mor- 
row (If I see him to-morrow). 



150 English Grammar 

5. Equivalent of past indicative: Whom should I meet 
(did I meet). What should he do (did he do). 

"When the priest should ask" — " Taming of the 
Shrew " — (asked, Anglo-Saxon sceolde ascian). 

1, 3, 5 are in the indicative: 2 and 4 are equivalents of the sub- 
junctive. 

175. Must. — In origin a past tense, but now used as 
a present. In "We must obey the law," must should be 
parsed as a verb in the indicative ; obey, as infinitive. 
Must, when reference is made to past time, is followed 
by the perfect infinitive : You must have known him 
formerly. 

CONDITIONAL PROPOSITIONS 

176. Clauses expressing condition may be divided into 
three classes : logical, ideal, and unreal. 

1. Logical: Employed for sake of argument — if one 
thing is so, then another thing is so. No doubt is ex- 
pressed. The mood is indicative. 

Examples : — 

If he is breathing, he is living. 

If he says that, he lies. 

If there is a God, he is just. 

If that thou beest a Roman, take it forth. 

If thou beest he . . . thou seest. 

If it was you, then I have nothing more to say. 

If she was without love, she was without hate. 

2. Ideal. A mere supposition, may or may not be true. 
Doubt is implied, and the mood is subjtmctive. 

Examples : — 

If there be a God, he ought to be just. 

If thou do these things, show thyself to the world. 

If it assume {should assume) my noble father's person, I'll speak to it. 



Conditional Propositions 151 

Instead of the subjunctive according to theory, in modern English the 
indicative is more commonly used, even in mere suppositions ; as, " If it 
rains to-morrow, I shall not go ; " " If he is at home, tell him to send 
the book." The more modern equivalents of the ideal subjunctive are 
also in common use : " If you shotdd see him, let me know " ; a If he 
should return, he would be arrested." 

3. Unreal. Condition not fulfilled. The past subjunctive 
is used to express unreality in the present time ; the past 
perfect, unreality in the past. 

Examples : — 

If I were you, I should go. 

If he were here, he could speak for himself. 

If I knew, I would tell you. 

If I had been in your place, I should have done so. 

If he had been here, he could have spoken for himself. 

If I had known, I would have told you. 

EXERCISE 72 
Parse the verbs and verb-phrases : — 

1. I cannot tell where he is. 2. You may go to-morrow. 3. My 
fingers are so numb I cannot write. 4. May your shadow never grow 
less! 5. I could not see my hand before my face. 6. He may return 
sooner than you think. 7. I would help you if I could. 8. I hope you 
may succeed. 9. Enjoy your holiday while you may. 10. You may have 
been mistaken. 11. He might have answered more politely. 12. They 
feared they might lose their way. 13. I thought he would be here 
before this. 14. It is better that I should stay where I am. 15. The 
old sailor would entertain us for hours with stories of his early life. 
16. If he had stuck to it, he could have made his fortune. 17. He 
would not answer my question. 18. We should do to others as 
we would that they should do to us. 19. When seven o'clock came 
he would shoulder his axe and go to the woods. 20. If he should not 
be at home, leave a message for him. 21. He gave orders that the spy 
should be shot at daybreak. 22. If he has my mail, I will turn back 
home. 23. If you had a message for me, why didn't you deliver it 
sooner ? 24. If I were not busy to-day I should go hunting. 25. If I 



1 5 2 



English Grammar 



had seen him, I should have told him. 26. If I see him to-morrow, I 
will tell him. 27. If I had been there, he would not have escaped. 
28. Had he known it earlier he could have saved you the trouble. 

USES OF SHALL AND WILL 

177. Shall and will are auxiliaries of tense when they 
denote futurity (see p. 110) ; otherwise they are principal 
verbs with complementary infinitive, will in the first per- 
son denoting volition or determination, shall in the second 
and third persons denoting promise or compulsion. As 
these words are often misused, the following table 1 is 
given to show in what ways they may be correctly used. 



To Express 



ist Pers. 



2D AND 3D 

Pers. 



Examples 



I. Futurity 



2. Question 



3. Determina- 
tion 



4. Promise 



5. Compulsion 



shall 



shall 



will 



will 



shall 



will 



shall, will 



will 



shall 



shall 



I shall come to-morrow. 
You will get back late. 
He will arrive first. 

f Shall I pass ? 
^j Shall you pass ? 
[ Will he pass ? 

f I will have my own way. 

< You will have your own way. 

[He will have his own way. 

(I will pay you to-morrow. 
You shall be paid to-morrow. 
He shall be paid to-morrow. 

f He says I shall do it. 
{ Thou shall not steal. 
L He shall surely die. 



1 From West's " English Grammar." 



The Infinitive 1 53" 



THE INFINITIVE 

178. The Infinitive, although it has the meaning of the 
verb, denoting an act or a state, has not the function of the 
verb, that is, it does not of itself predicate anything of a 
subject. As we have seen in Part II, the verb which 
predicates something of a subject is limited to agree 
with that subject, and hence is called finite (limited). But 
the infinitive is used only as adjunct or complement of 
the predicate, or as object or subject of a verb, or with the 
auxiliaries to form tenses, or as modifier of nouns, or adjec- 
tives, or adverbs, — not as the verb proper of a sentence. 

Primarily, the infinitive denotes the act or state expressed 
by the verb put in the form of a noun ; and most, though 
not all, of its uses may be traced back to this noun use. 
Some of them, however, are distinct from the uses of 
ordinary nouns ; others are equivalent to prepositional 
phrases. 

179. Omission of to. — The infinitive is usually preceded 
by to, which has come to be regarded as a part of it. But 
the infinitive is used without to : — 

1. After do, will, shall, may, can, must, usually after 
certain other verbs such as bid, dare, need, let, see, hear, 
make, feel, help, have( = cause), and sometimes after please 
and go : - — 

Go see where he is. 

Please tell him to come at once. 

Will you make him come? 

You dare not do it. 

You need not wait. 

Bid him make haste. 

I heard him call. 



154 English Grammar 

When the verb upon which the infinitive depends is in the passive 
voice, the to is regularly used : — 

He was heard to say it. 
He was seen to do it. 

2. In certain idioms. 

(i) After had rather y had better y had as lief, etc. : — 

I had rather be a doorkeeper. 
You had better go and see. 

(2) In certain elliptical phrases. 
(a) Of comparison : — 

As well pay now as later. 

Better do it now than put it off till to-morrow. 

(J?) Exclamatory and interrogative : — 

What ! be gone all day and not catch a. fish ! 
Why not tell him ? 

(c) After but : — 

He cannot choose but hear. 
We can but try. 

180. Uses of the Infinitive. — The Infinitive may be 
tused : — 

1. As subject : — 

To err is human. 

To be contents his natural desire. 

2. As predicate noun (predicate nominative): — 

To see is to believe. 

To know her is to love her. 

3. As object of a transitive verb : — 

I like to read Kipling's stories. 
He preferred to stay at home. 
She intends to teach. 
I hate to see him act so. 



The Infinitive 155 

4. After the prepositions about, but, except : — 

They were about to leave. 

There was nothing left for me but to give my consent. 

He did nothing but read. 

He cared for nothing except to make money. 

5. To modify or complete the meaning of verbs, nouns, 
adjectives, and adverbs. In these uses it may be parsed 
as a complementary infinitive to the word it limits. 

(a) After verbs, to express purpose, consequence, and 
the like : — 

He came to see us. 

It came to pass. 

He was ordered to surrender. 

They rejoiced to hear of it. 

(b) After nouns : — 

They had no rule to go by. 
Jones has a fine horse to sell. 
Give me something to eat. 
I have no desire to offend you. 

(c) After adjectives : — 

I am glad to see you. 
Are you ready to start. 
She is hard to please. 
He was the first to speak. 

(d) After adverbs : — 

He was not strong enough to lift it. 
They arrived too late to catch the train. 
Be so good as to answer at once. 

6. After certain verbs the infinitive, preceded by a noun 
or pronoun in the objective case, forms with it a substan- 
tive phrase, the whole to be regarded as the object of the 
verb : — 



156 English Grammar 

I saw him fall. 

She asked him to come. 

He ordered the regiment to advance. 

In the passive construction the infinitive is retained, and may be 
parsed as complementary infinitive : — 

The regiment was ordered to advance. 

7. In parenthetical phrases : — 

To be sure, I have not known him long. 

He is not a scholar, so to speak, but he is well read. 

To tell you the truth, I do not like him. 

8. In exclamations : — 

I, to desist from my purpose ? Never ! 
I, to herd with narrow foreheads ! 
He turn traitor? 

EXERCISE 73 

Parse the infinitives : — 

1. They bade him be gone. 2. May it please your highness sit? 
3. What makes that ship drive on so fast? 4. You need but gaze on 
Ellen's eye. 5. I think Captain Channel had better hasten home. 
6. Like the Chaldean, he could watch the stars. 7. To be good is to 
be happy. 8. He sought to slay Moses. 9. I purpose to write the 
history of England. 10. He frankly avowed himself to be Wilfred of 
Ivanhoe. 11. There is no time to waste. 12. I have the wish, but 
want the will to act. 13. What's to come is still unsure. 14. At my 
age, to talk to me of such stuff! 15. I came to save, and not destroy. 
16. What had he done to make him fly the land? 17. Such a one do 
I remember, whom to look at was to love. 18. Well, — to make a long 
story short, — he won the race. 19. If you have tears, prepare to shed 
them now. 20. I must not have you question me. 21. Let us go visit 
Faustus. 22. I am shamed through all my nature to have loved so 
slight a thing. 

23. He resolved, rather than yield, 
To die with honor in the field. 



The Infinitive 157 

24. The mariners all 'gan work the ropes 
Where they were wont to do. 

25. No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet 
To chase the glowing hours with flying feet. 

26. This quiet sail is as a noiseless wing 
To waft me from distraction. 

27. I cannot bear 
The murmur of this lake to hear. 

28. Forward, forward let us range ; 
Let the great world spin forever down the ringing grooves 

of change. 

29. Thou art alive still while thy book doth live, 
And we have wits to read, and praise to give. 

30. Fair daffodils, we weep to see 
You haste away so soon. 

31. I still had hopes, my long vexations past, 
Here to return, and die at home at last. 

32. Far other aims his heart had learned to prize, 
More skilled to raise the wretched than to rise. 

33. Even now, methinks, as pondering here I stand, 
I see the rural virtues leave the land. 

34. Behold surrounding kings their powers combine? 
And one capitulate, and one resign, 

35. Who could refrain 

That had a heart to love, and in that heart 
Courage to make's love known ? 

36. This man is freed from servile bands 

Of hope to rise or fear to fall ; 
Lord of himself, though not of lands, 
And having nothing, yet hath all. 

37. Teach me, my God and King, 

In all things Thee to see, 
And what I do in anything 
To do it as to Thee. 



158 English Grammar 

38. Sometimes a-dropping from the sky 
I heard the skylark sing ; 
Sometimes all little birds that are, 
How they seemed to fill the sea and air 
With their sweet jargoning ! 



VERBAL NOUNS AND PARTICIPLES 

181. Words formed from verbs by the ending -ing may 
be either present participles or nouns. To which class 
they belong must be determined by their use in the 
sentence. In " Seeing is believing," seeing and believing 
are nouns ; in " Seeing him fall, and believing him to be 
seriously hurt, I ran to help him," seeing and believing 
are participles. 

182. Verbal Nouns. — Verbal Nouns in -ing may be 
divided into two classes : — 

1. Those having the ordinary construction and inflection 
of nouns, but not the governing power of the verb : — 

This is a true saying. 
His teachings have had great influence. 
I will do your bidding. 
This was his being^s end and aim. 
I know all the windings of the river. 

The royalists looked upon the beheading of the king as an impious 
act. 

2. Those that take an object, a predicate noun or 
adjective, or other adjuncts of the verb: — 

Making promises is not keeping them. 

He enjoyed reading your letter. 

I could not keep him from breaking the seal. 

You cannot prevent his going home. 

He is sure of finding friends enough. 

They knew of his having written the letter. 



Verbal Nouns and Participles 159 

183. Verbal nouns of the second class are commonly 
called Gerunds. 

184. Confusion of Gerund and Participle. — The gerund 
is generally distinct from the participle in meaning and in 
construction. Thus, in " I saw him coming," coming is a 
participle belonging to hint, the object of saw. In " I am 
sure of his coming in time," coming is a verbal noun in the 
objective case after of> and his is a possessive case modify- 
ing coming. 

In the latter sentence the true substantive is the word expressing the 
action ; it is the coming of which the speaker is sure ; and the word that 
represents the subject of the action (I am sure that he will come) 
becomes merely an adjunct of the gerund, a possessive case. 

The principle which calls for the possessive construction 
with the gerund is regularly observed when the subject of 
the action is represented by a pronoun ; but in the case 
of nouns, some confusion has arisen in the language 
between the gerund and the participle, and in consequence 
we often find such expressions as " He could not prevent 
his son going to war," "Who ever heard of an army 
superior in numbers retreating without a blow ? " where 
the verbal noun is treated as if it were a participle. 

185. Participles. — Participles have already been defined 
as verbal adjectives. They stand in the same relation to 
other adjectives that verbal nouns do to other nouns. 
They may be used 

1 . Attributively : — 

A smiling face. Written directions. The contracting parties. 
The swelling river hurries to the sea. 

In this use the participle is construed as a simple adjec- 
tive, and admits only the adjuncts of the adjective, that is, 



160 English Grammar 

adverbs, but not objects and other verb modifiers. Some 
participles, however, admit what is really an object as a 
prefixed defining element — usually united with the par- 
ticiple by a hyphen : A god-fearing man. Ear-piercing 
shrieks were heard. 

The participle in this use sometimes stands without its noun (see 
80) : The exalted are brought low. The loving are the daring, 

2. Appositively (see 159, 2) : — 

Banners bearing strange devices floated from the gables. 
We forded several streams swollen by the recent rains. 
Defeated in his attempts, he abandoned his purpose. 

3. As a part of the predicate : — 

(a) As predicate adjective, agreeing with the subject : — 

They were talking. I have been considering the matter. You are 
invited to attend. She became acquainted with him later. 

(&) As predicate adjective, agreeing with the object : — 

I heard them talking. He left the town well fortified and provisioned. 
John is having a new coat made. 

if) Adverbially : — 

They came running. He went whistling down the road. 

Observe that in this use the participle, though construed with the 
subject, has the value of a predicate modifier — an adverb phrase or 
clause. 

In uses 2 and 3 the participle may take all the adjuncts of the verb 
from which it is formed. 

4. Absolutely, with a noun or pronoun in the nominative 

case : — 

The secretary being absent, no business was done. 
The weather permitting, I shall sail to-morrow. 
She consenting, we took a long walk. 

The participle being is often omitted : Breakfast {being) over, they 
started. 



Verbal Nouns and Participles 161 

186. Use of the Participle in Verb Phrases. — The predi- 
cate use of the present participle with the auxiliary be 
forms the continuous or progressive tenses ; and the like 
use of the perfect participle with the same auxiliary forms 
the passive voice (rarely, the perfect and past perfect of 
intransitive verbs) : — 

We are working. 

The house has been sold. 

He is gone. 

The perfect participle with the auxiliary have is used to 
form the perfect and past perfect tenses : — 

I have seen him. 

They had not been there long. 

These verb phrases, however, should, in analyzing, be 
parsed as grammatical units. 

EXERCISE 74 
Parse the verbal nouns and the participles: — 

1 . The children stood watching them out of the town. 

2. There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so. 

3. Nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle 



4. But Satan now is wiser than of yore, 

And tempts by making rich, not making poor. 

5. Leave writing plays, and choose for thy command 
Some peaceful province in Acrostic-Land. 

6. Deign on the passing world to turn thine eyes, 
And pause a while from learning to be wise. 

7. The dancing pair, that simply sought renown, 
By holding out to tire each other down. 



1 62 English Grammar 

8. He with his horrid crew 
Lay vanquished, rolling in the fiery gulf, 
Confounded though immortal. 

9. I am in blood 
Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, 
Returning were as tedious as go o'er. 

10. Here lay Duncan, 

His silver skin laced with his golden blood ; 

And his gashed stabs looked like a breach in nature. 

For ruin's wasteful entrance. 

1 1 . Let us, then, be up and doing, 

With a heart for any fate ; 
Still achieving, still pursuing, 
Learn to labor and to wait. 

12. Thou comest not when violets lean 

O'er wandering brooks and springs unseen ? 
Or columbines, in purple dressed, 
Nod o'er the ground-bird's hidden nest. 

13. For a cap and bells our lives we pay, 
Bubbles we buy with a whole soul's tasking ; 
'Tis Heaven alone that is given away, 

'Tis only God may be had for the asking. 

14. In vain we call old notions fudge, 

And bend our conscience to our dealing ; 
The Ten Commandments will not budge, 
And stealing will continue stealing. 

15. While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, 
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. 

16. Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning, 
Soon again I heard a tapping, somewhat louder than before. 

17. But, scarce observed, the knowing and the bold 
Fall in the general massacre of gold ; 
Wide-wasting pest ! that rages unconflned, 
And crowds with crime the records of mankind ; 



General Review 163 

For gold his sword the hireling ruffian draws, 
For gold the hireling judge distorts the laws ; 
Wealth heaped on wealth nor truth nor safety buys, 
The dangers gather as the treasures rise. 

18. Our actions, depending upon ourselves, may be controlled, while 
the powers of thinking, originating in higher causes, cannot always be 
moulded to our wishes. 

GENERAL REVIEW 

Miscellaneous examples for parsing and analysis : — 

1 . The armaments which thunderstrike the walls 
Of rock-built cities, bidding nations quake, 
And monarchs tremble in their capitals, 

The oak leviathans, whose huge ribs make 

Their clay creator the vain title take 

Of lord of thee and arbiter of war — 

These are thy toys, and, as the snowy flake, 

They melt into thy yeast of waves, which mar 

Alike the Armada's pride, or spoils of Trafalgar. — Byron. 

2. The world is too much with us : late and soon, 
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers ; 
Little we see in Nature that is ours ; 

We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon ! 

The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon ; 

The winds that will be howling at all hours, 

And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers ; 

For this, for everything, we are out of tune ; 

It moves us not. Great God ! I'd rather be 

A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn ; 

So might I, standing on this pleasant lea, 

Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn ; 

Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea ; 

Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn. — Wordsworth. 

3. I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers, 

From the seas and the streams ; 
I bear light shade for the leaves when laid 
In their noon-day dreams. 



164 English Grammar 

From my wings are shaken the dews that waken 

The sweet buds every one, 
When rocked to rest on their mother's breast, 

As she dances about the sun. 
I wield the flail of the lashing hail, 

And whiten the green plains under, 
And then again I dissolve it in rain 

And laugh as I pass in thunder. - Shelley. 

4. Now glory to the Lord of Hosts, from whom all glories are ! 
And glory to our Sovereign Liege, King Henry of Navarre ! 
Now let there be the merry sound of music and of dance, 
Through thy corn-fields green and sunny vines, O pleasant land of 

France ! 
And thou, Rochelle, our own Rochelle, proud city of the waters, 
Again let rapture light the eyes of all thy mourning daughters. 
As thou wert constant in our ills, be joyous in our joy ; 
For cold and stiff and still are they who wrought thy walls annoy. 
Hurrah ! hurrah ! a single field hath turned the chance of war ! 
Hurrah ! hurrah ! for Ivry and King Henry of Navarre ! — Macaulay. 

5. So said he, and the barge with oar and sail 
Moved from the brink, like some full-breasted swan 
That, fluting a wild carol ere her death, 

Ruffles her pure cold plume, and takes the flood 
With swarthy webs. Long stood Sir Bedivere 
Revolving many memories, till the hull 
Looked one black dot against the verge of dawn, 
And on the mere the wailing died away. — Tennyson. 

6. How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank ! 
Here will we sit, and let the sounds of music 
Creep in our ears : soft stillness and the night 
Become the touches of sweet harmony. 

Sit, Jessica. Look how the floor of heaven 
Is thick inlaid with patines of bright gold : 
There's not the smallest orb which thou behold'st 
But in his motion like an angel sings, 
Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubins ; 
Such harmony is in immortal souls ; 



General Review 165 

But whilst this muddy vesture of decay 

Doth grossly close it in, we cannot hear it. — Shakspere. 

7. For I have learned 

To look on nature, not as in the hour 

Of thoughtless youth ; but hearing oftentimes 

The still, sad music of humanity, 

Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power 

To chasten and subdue. And I have felt 

A presence that disturbs me with the joy 

Of elevated thoughts ; a sense sublime 

Of something far more deeply interfused, 

Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns, 

And the round ocean, and the living air, 

And the blue sky, and in the mind of man : 

A motion and a spirit, that impels 

All thinking things, all objects of all thought, , 

And rolls through all things. — Wordsworth. 

8. He will watch from dawn to gloom 
The lake-reflected sun illume 
The yellow bees in the ivy-bloom, 
Nor heed nor see what things they be ; 
But from these create he can 

Forms more real than living man, 
Nurslings of immortality. — Shelley. 

9. St. Agnes 1 Eve — ah, bitter chill it was ! 
The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold ; 

The hare limped trembling through the frozen grass, 

And silent was the flock in woolly fold ; 

Numb were the Beadsman's fingers, while he told 

His rosary, and while his frosted breath, 

Like pious incense from a censer old, 

Seemed taking flight for heaven without a death, 

Past the sweet Virgin's picture, while his prayer he saith. — Keatsc 

10. Near yonder copse, where once the garden smiled, 
And still where many a garden flower grows wild : 
There, where a few torn shrubs the place disclose, 
The village preacher's modest mansion rose. 



1 66 English Grammar 

A man he was to all the country dear, 

And passing rich with forty pounds a year : 

Remote from towns he ran his godly race, 

Nor e'er had changed, nor wished to change his place ; 

Unpractised he to fawn, or seek for power, 

By doctrines fashioned to the varying hour ; 

tar other aims his heart had learned to prize, 

More skilled to raise the wretched than to rise. — Goldsmith. 

ii. Fame is the spur that the clear spirit doth raise, 
That last infirmity of noble minds, 
To scorn delights, and live laborious days ; 
But the fair guerdon when we hope to find, 
And think to burst out into sudden blaze, 
Comes the blind Fury, with the abhorred shears, 
And slits the thin-spun life. — Milton. 

12. How sleep the brave who sink to rest, 
By all their country's wishes blest ! 
When spring, with dewy fingers cold, 
Returns to deck their hallowed mould, 
She there shall dress a sweeter sod 
Than fancy's feet have ever trod. 
By fairy hands their knell is rung : 
By forms unseen their dirge is sung ; 
There honor comes, a pilgrim gray, 
To bless the turf that wraps their clay ; 
And freedom shall awhile repair, 
To dwell, a weeping hermit, there ! — Collins. 



INDEX 



A or an, 66. 

Abstract nouns, 38-39. 

Active voice, 73. 

Adjectives, 64 ff. ; attributive, 135 ; predi- 
cate, 136; appositive, 135; demon- 
strative, 65 ; indefinite, 65 ; relative, 
65 ; interrogative, 65 ; numeral, 64 ; 
comparison of, 67 ; used as nouns, 68. 

Adjuncts, 109, no, in, 112. 

Adverbial clauses, in, 117. 

Adverbial objective, 49, 113, 132. 

Adverbial phrases, no. 

Adverbs, 98 ff. ; classification of, 98 ; con- 
junctive, 99, 107 ; pronominal, 99 ; 
comparison of, 100. 

Analysis, 108 ff. 

Antecedent, 57 ; agreement with, 58, 138 ; 
omitted, 58. 

Appositive, 47, 128. 

Articles, 66. 

As, relative, 59. 

Attributive, 135. 

Auxiliary verbs, 94-95 ; modal, 147. 

Be, copula, 71; conjugation of, 81-82; 

auxiliary, 94. 
But, as relative, 59. 

Can, 148. 

Cardinal numerals, 64. 

Case — see Nominative, Possessive, 
Objective. 

Clauses, 114; noun clauses, 115; adjec- 
tive clauses, 116; adverb clauses, 117. 

Cognate object, 54, 71, 130. 

Collective nouns, 39. 

Common nouns, 38. 

Comparison of adjectives, 67-68 ; of ad- 
verbs, ICO. 

Complements, 71-72. 



Complementary infinitive, 155. 
Complex sentence, 114. 
Compound nouns, plural of, 44. 
Compound personal pronouns, 54. 
Compound sentences, 119. 
Compound subject, 119; compound 

predicate, 119. 
Concession, adverbs of, 98 ; conjunctions 

of, 106; clauses of, 117; subjunctive 

of, 145. 
Conditional sentences, 150-151. 
Conjugation, 81 ff. 
Conjunction, 106-107, coordinate, 106; 

subordinate, 106. 
Conjunctive adverbs, 99, 107. 
Coordinate clauses, 119; conjunctions, 

106. 
Copula, 71, 
Correlatives, 106. 
Could, 148. 

Dare, 94. 
Dative case, 131. 
Declarative sentences, 108. 
Declension, 36, 46. 
Defective verbs, 93. 
Definite article, 66. 

Demonstrative pronouns, 61; demon- 
strative adjectives, 65. 
Direct object, 46, 49, 70, 130. 
Do, 95. 
Double possessive, 130. 

Emphatic pronouns, 55. 
Emphatic tense forms, 77-78. 
Exclamatory sentences, 108. 



Feminine gender, 40. 
Finite verb, 74, 147. 
Foreign plurals, 43-44. 
167 



i68 



Index 



Future perfect tense, 77. 
Future tense, jj. 

Gender of nouns, 40; of pronouns, 52, 

56. 
Gerund, 159. 

Have, conjugation of, 82 ; auxiliary, 95. 

Imperative mood, 75. 

Imperative sentence, 108. 

Impersonal verbs, 94. 

Incomplete predication, verbs of, 71, 128, 

131. 
Indefinite article, 66. 
Indefinite pronouns, 61. 
Indicative mood, 75. 
Indirect object, 46, 131. 
Indirect question, 144. 
Infinitive, 79, 80, no, 153. 
Inflection, 36. 

ing, words ending in, 80, 158. 
Interjections, 32. 
Interrogative: pronouns, 56; adjectives, 

65 ; adverbs, 99 ; sentences, 108. 
Intransitive verbs, 70, 73. 
Irregular comparison, 68, 100. 
Irregular weak verbs, 91-93. 
//, preparatory, in; as cognate object, 

54- 

Like, 131. 

Logical conditional, 150. 

Many a, 65. 

Masculine gender, 40, 

May, might, 148, 149. 

Methinks, 94. 

Mood — see Indicative, Imperative, Sub- 
junctive. 

More and most, comparison with, 67, 
100. 

Must, 150. 

Near, 131. 

Need, 94. 

Neither . . . nor, 141. 

Neuter gender, 40. 

Nominate case, 46, 47, 127-129. 



Noun clauses, 115. 

Nouns, 38; common, 38; proper, 38; 
abstract, 38; collective, 39 ; compound, 
44 ; parsing of, 50 ; used as adjectives, 
68 ; used adverbially, 49 ; inflection of, 
36. 

Number, 41-45, 79. 

Numeral adjectives, 64. 

Object, direct, 46, 49, 7c, 130; indirect 

46, 131 ; cognate, 54, 71, 130. 
Objective case, 49, 130. 
Ought, 93. 

Parsing, 50. 

Participle, 159-161. 

Parts of speech, 33. 

Passive voice, 73. 

Past tense, 76. 

Past perfect tense, jj. 

Perfect participle, 80, 161. 

Person, 79. 

Personal pronouns, 52. 

Phrase, no. 

Plural number, formation of, 41-45; in 

foreign nouns, 43. 
Positive degree, 67. 
Possessive case, 48, 129. 
Possessive pronouns, 64. 
Predicate, 112. 

Predicate nominative, 47, 72, 128. 
Preposition, 103. 
Present perfect tense, 76, 142. 
Present tense, 76, 142. 
Principal verbs, 95. 
Progressive tense-forms, 77, 161. 
Pronominal adjectives, 64. 
Pronouns, 52-63. 
Proper nouns, 38. 
Purpose, 106, 144. 

Reciprocal pronouns, 61. 
Reflexive pronouns, 54. 
Relative pronouns, 57. 
Result, 144. 
Retained object, 74. 

Sentences, 108. 
Shall, 93, 95, 152. 
Should, 149. 



Index 



169 



Simple sentence, 109. 

Singular number, 41. 

Strong verbs, 87. 

Subject, 109. 

Subjunctive mood, 75, 143. 

Subordinate conjunctions, 106. 

Superlative degree — see Comparison. 

Tense — see Present, Past, etc. 
The, article, 66 ; the adverb, 66, 67. 
There, preparatory, in. 
Transitive verbs, 70. 



Verbal nouns, 79, 153, 158. 
Verb phrases, 147. 
Verbs, 70, 112. 
Voice, 73. 

Weak verbs, 90. 
What, 58. 
Will, 93, 95, 152. 
Would, 149. 

Ye and you, 54. 
Yes and no, 98. 



MAY 10 190? 



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